The Mutant Massacre
by Wizard1
Summary: At last complete! Many thanks to all my reviewers!
1. Run For Your Life!

**The Mutant Massacre**

**Prologue: Run For Your Life**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

**The title of this fic should tell you which X-Men storyline gave me the inspiration for this fic (forced the idea upon me may be a more accurate description, though). I will be adding characters not present in the actual storyline. Some roles need to be filled, after all, and others will need to be altered slightly.**

**Red Witch: I'm glad you've like my takes on the Misfits so far. You wanted more, and here it is. I just hope you like it as much as my other two. You've stated in the past that you've got a whole backlog of ideas for Misfit fics coming up for us unworthy readers. If you have any plans to adapt the Mutant Massacre storyline, tell me and I'll discontinue this, no problem.**

**RogueFanKC: I really do like Scott. However, I saw Joyride before I wrote the ending of 'Enter the Psylocke,' and I had to punish him. But don't worry- there'll be some more torture in this fic. I don't know where I got the idea of relating Psylocke to Bree, but I'm glad you like it. Yes, Betsy's attracted to Pietro. Will he feel the same way? And will there be a fight about it? You'll see… Oh, and re. the naked Lifeline story- I'm sorry, but you'll find out. It's not that bad!**

**L1701E- You're giving me permission to use the Starrs? Thanks. Just for that, if you want to use my version of Evo-Psylocke, her family, and her history, be my guest. I don't know if I'll use them in this fic or not- it's kinda crowded as it is, but I'll see if I can fit them in. And for ideas… you could always go to old X-Men or GI Joe storylines and expand them as you see fit. Or you could do movie parodies- todd fan, for example, has done some awesome parodies. Or, if you're feeling really ambitious, you could do what Soul Reaver has done and cross the Misfits over with other fandoms. For example, a Ranma ½ (****Duncan**** no baka!) or Jackie Chan Adventures (One more thing!) crossover would be hilarious if done properly.**

**And now, on with the prologue of The Mutant Massacre: Run For Your Life.**

            "Run for your life," the cruel voice whispered.

            Tommy complied. She ran farther and faster than she ever had before. She sobbed as she ran. She only wanted to visit her friends in their forest home! She even found a back way there that the Outriders didn't seem to know about. Why did this happen? How did these cruel people know how to find her?

            The laughter followed behind her. The ground sometimes shook and ruptured, knocking her down. She heard gunfire just over her head. Throwing stars missed her by less than an inch. Spears landed mere feet ahead of her. Sometimes, she got so dizzy that her insides felt like they were going to turn out. Beams of light shot beside her, and ahead of her. Sometimes, they went to her sides, and showed silhouettes of her attackers. And all around her, that frightening, mocking laughter.

            'This has to be a nightmare,' she thought desperately. 'Please,' she prayed to the God she never quite stopped believing in, 'please let this be a nightmare!'

            She ran until her sides ached and breathing was almost impossible. She was tired even before she was attacked. Her visit had taken her across a few states, and she felt every mile. She was running on pure adrenaline, now, and she knew she was dead the moment it ran out.

            Finally, after so very, very long, the trees began to thin. Hope added speed to Tommy's feet. She could just barely make out the road ahead! It was a fairly busy highway- there were bound to be lots of cars using it. Finally, the road was about twenty feet, and a large shape stretched out of the trees. Another flash of light illuminated it. It was a large, bald man, with a horrifying grin on his face. Tommy was running too fast to change course, and she knew that if she stopped running, she could not start again. He raised his fist.

            'He's going to hit me!' she thought. Suddenly, a wild idea came to her. She had never done this before, but she had nothing to lose. She gave one final, desperate burst of speed. As she drew closer to the man, she jumped, and then used her powers. She became thinner, flatter, and aerodynamic. The wind picked her up like a leaf- or a sheet of paper. Her idea worked.

            She remained airborne for a time. The wind whistled over and under her, tickling her, causing her to giggle in spite of herself. She knew she would hit ground again, and when she did…

            Looking down, she spotted a truck that was- she hoped- going south. Slowly, she shifted herself so that she would dive to the ground. This would require timing, and lots of it, but…

            She aimed for the open back. She thinned herself to her absolute limit- now, unless a person was looking precisely down or up at her, she would be invisible. One of the advantages of turning yourself into human paper. She descended slowly, achingly so, but soon she was at the truck. Closer… closer… yes! She managed a safe landing. She knew she had to stay in her paper form at least until the driver stopped, but she was safe! She was safe, and she would never leave the Alley again!

***

            When the driver stopped at a gas station, Tommy slipped out of the truck's… the open part of the truck (she had no idea what the specific names of cars or automobiles were- that's what happens when one grows up in a sewer).

            Staying low to the ground, she slunk around the gas station, and listened in on people's conversations. She listened for anybody that brought up the name of her home.

            "…yeah," one man said to another, "I'm goin' there, too, right after I stop in Bayville."

            Bayville? Home!

            Tommy followed the man who said he was going to her home. When he went to his car, Tommy thinned herself to her furthest limit. She crept into the man's trunk. She had only ever gone so thin once before, and only for a few seconds, but she managed to fully enter the trunk before she had to grow thicker.

            She didn't know how long she remained in the trunk. From time to time, she thinned herself to her furthest, and poked her head out. Finally, as dawn was beginning to break, she was home. She exited the trunk when the man had stopped for a traffic light, and by reflex, she waved her thanks, even though she took care to remain unseen.

            She entered the first manhole she found, and made for the Alley.

            When she was almost there, she heard the sound of crying. She paused, and then went to investigate.

            A few tunnels over, by an opened manhole, she saw a girl sitting, sobbing. She was a teenager, maybe sixteen, and crying her eyes out. The girl had green hair. Tommy watched for a while. There were a number of rules Callisto enforced, and 'No contact with humans' was the second. Only 'Don't let anyone know about us' was more important. Tommy turned to go, when the girl stopped crying, and made a hand gesture. The manhole cover beside her flew up into the air, and refastened itself. Tommy smiled- the girl was a mutant. Strange that Caliban hadn't picked up on her, but then, even he needed a break from time to time.

            "Hello," Tommy said softly. The girl gasped and looked up.

            "Who's there?" she demanded.

            "I am," Tommy said as she made herself visible. The girl gasped again. Tommy knew why- she was multi-coloured. Literally. Always had been. Her parents raised her for a while, but when she died, no one would take the 'freak-girl' in. She fled to the sewers, where she met her new family, who not only loved her and accepted her, but taught her what she was. Now, maybe, she had the chance to help repay the favour.

            "Hi," she said, coming over to the girl. "I'm Tommy. Who are you?"

            "Lorna," the girl sniffed. "Lorna Dane."

            "Hello Lorna. Welcome to the sewers."

            "You live here too?"

            "Oh, yeah. And I'm not the only one. Lots of people like us are living here."

            "Hold on," Lorna said, suddenly rising. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm not some kind of-"

            "Mutant?" Tommy asked, smiling. "Yes, you are. I saw what you did with the manhole cover. And let me guess- you're parents kicked you out when they found out, didn't they?"

            "Yeah," Lorna sniffed. "My dad- my real dad- he died when I was a baby. My mom got married to a real jerk. She died a few years ago, so it's just me and my step-dad. And when he found out, he went nuts! He- he kicked me out, a-and we only just moved to Bayville, and I don't have any other family, and I'm all alone!" Lorna started crying again, and Tommy hugged her. Tommy had heard this story a hundred times already. Only the minor details changed, but the theme and plot were the same. Mutant develops powers. Mutant is discovered. Mutant is exiled from home. Mutant winds up in the sewers. Mutant lives happily ever after with the Morlocks. Not many of the Morlocks would be happy about this- they were the ones that couldn't fit in topside, and wanted it to stay that way, but Tommy thought that was ridiculous. Some of the Morlocks looked completely human- Callisto did, and Annalee, Piper, Sunder, Healer, Ray back when he was with them, and others could pass if you managed to hide a feature or two. Masque was one of the ringleaders of the 'Morlocks only' faction, and he was an important Morlock, but he wasn't the one who made those decisions. That was Callisto, and she had never turned anybody away. Never.

            "Come on," Tommy said soothingly. "There are friends just waiting to meet you." Lorna didn't respond. She just kept crying. "Let it out, Lorna," Tommy said, "just let it all out." She decided to try a different tactic. "Say, that's a really nice necklace you have there." Lorna stopped crying.

            "It- it belonged to my mom," Lorna sniffed, and raised her neck so that Tommy could see it better. It was more of a choker than anything else, and it had the picture of a woman's face on it. It wasn't a nice woman, not at all. The woman was smiling cruelly, and her eyes had an insane light in them.

            "I know," Lorna sniffed before Tommy could say anything. "I know that woman looks horrible, but mom said it was an heirloom, and it's all I've got that's hers. Where did you say these friends are?"

            "Just through those tunnels over there," Tommy pointed. "It's not far. Our home- we call it the Alley- isn't hard to find if you know what you're looking for."

            "That's all I needed to hear," Lorna said in a very different tone of voice, a split-second before someone knocked Tommy down to the ground from behind. She heard the twisting of metal, and felt something metallic bind her feet and arms and wrap around her mouth. She tried to thin herself, but she couldn't! Her powers were gone!

            "How long, Scrambler?" Lorna asked, in that same horrible tone of voice.

            "An hour, Polaris," was the man's response.

            "An hour? It won't take me that long," Lorna- Polaris- laughed, and Tommy heard footsteps move away. "Go on- I'll catch up."

            Suddenly Tommy was jerked to her feet. She was floating a foot off of the ground. Lorna's face stared back up at her.

            "You know," Lorna said conversationally, "when I heard the plan, I couldn't believe it. 'The sound of crying will attract the target,' the boss said. But, as always, he was right. See, he knew that you had to lead us right to the rest of you weaklings, and you had to do it without letting them know that we're coming. The Eloi, though- they were an unexpected bonus. We didn't know that there was a way to get to them that their precious Outriders didn't know about. For that, I won't take as long as I usually do."

            Tommy closed her eyes. Tears began to leak out of them. She thought she was safe. She was home- she should have been safe!

            Lorna raised Tommy directly above her, caused more bands of metal to float around her prisoner, and began to laugh maniacally. Tommy realized that it was Lorna's laughter that followed her during her flight.

            Pain wracked Tommy's world, and then blessedly, it dissolved. But before she fell into the abyss, she heard Lorna's voice.

            "Don't worry- you won't be alone for long. I promise you that."

            The last thing Tommy saw was Lorna's necklace. The picture of the woman had changed expression. The woman was now laughing insanely.

***

            Topside, in a secluded alley, Lorna rejoined her team.

            Scrambler's eyes widened as he saw his youngest team-mate stride towards the rest of the team. Polaris was covered head to toe in blood.

            "Christ," their tall and muscled guest whistled in admiration. "You really are one sick frail, ain't ya?"

            "You noticed, did you, Sabretooth?" a female voice grumbled. Petite Vertigo liked the chase. She liked to hurt people- they all did. And she definitely enjoyed the kill- the more painful, the better. She didn't like getting dirty. She definitely didn't like Mal… Polaris.

            "Well?" a tall, lean man demanded. Scalphunter was the field commander of their little outfit. He liked his authority, and didn't like having to go through a middle-man to get the boss' orders. "Did the order come in?"

            "Change of plans," Polaris replied evenly. Scalphunter may have been in charge, but _she was the one that talked to the boss. "He wants us to warm up first."_

            "Nice," Riptide, medium-sized and skinny, grinned. "I usually like to save the best for last, but right now I've got this craving for diced hippy."

            "Some best," the tall and incredibly muscled Blockbuster snapped. "Six warriors and a pack of sheep."

            "_Flock of sheep, you cretin," Riptide snarled._

            "Whatever! I wanna fight, not stomp people that ain't fightin' back. That's no fun. Besides- we're _right here_!"

            "Oh I don't know," Prism drawled- an odd sound coming from his crystalline body. "The sound of confused people screaming in pain and horror is very… addictive."

            "All fall in the hunt, weak and strong alike," the short, muscular Harpoon added. "It is the way of things that the weak fall first."

            "And besides, this way the best really is saved for last," Arclight, a tall and powerful woman, added consolingly. "And maybe if we're lucky, some of 'em _will put up a fight."_

            "Yeah, yeah," Blockbuster grumbled, giving in to his master's will.

            "Well then, ladies, gentlemen, it's time to go," Lorna smiled. "So many hippies to kill, so little time."

            "You should shower first, Polaris," Harpoon told her. "Any mutants with enhanced senses will smell you coming a mile away."

            "Why Harp," she said, hurt, "can't you tell?" She stood in the light so that the blood could be more even more clearly seen. "I just took a shower."

            Arclight, Blockbuster, Prism, and Riptide burst out laughing, Vertigo sniffed, and Scrambler began to snicker. The gang headed back to their transport. Sabretooth and Scalphunter hung back.

"All I can say is- this hunt better be worth it," Sabretooth grumbled. "I ain't had a vacation in years, and I ain't likely to get another one anytime soon."

            Scalphunter grinned and clapped his friend on the back. "Have I ever let you down? By the time we're done, you'll be just as bloody as the little princess up there."

***

            The Morlocks found Tommy later that morning. She had been torn to pieces. Many of the Morlocks cried. Several vowed vengeance on the marauders that killed their friend. Little did they know that they'd have their chance soon enough.

**Well, that's the prologue. What do you think? Like it, love it, hate it- just don't flame me, please. Everything I did, I did for a reason. What's up with Polaris? Why is she a murderous bitca? Long-time X-Readers might remember, but for the rest of you- read and find out! Next up: One X-Man, two Joes, and the ****Far East****. Put them all together, and what do you get? Find out, next time on "The Mutant Massacre": Chapter One: (Obligatory) Connections to Times Past!**


	2. Obligatory Connections to Times Past!

**Chapter One: (Obligatory) Connections to Times Past**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

**Red Witch: Don't worry- tell Althea that her Toddles is safe.**

**RogueFanKC: You're going to do a Misfit story too? Cool beans! I see a Stormwreck on the horizon…**

            Hong Kong: One Week Ago.

            Hong Kong hadn't changed much. It was feared that it would change greatly, but even a change in ownership hadn't managed to alter the essential spirit of the city. There were some changes, but they were mostly cosmetic in nature. Long time residents hoped that it would stay that way, but even the most hopeful knew that Hong Kong would change eventually. It was the nature of all things to change.

            Two men and a woman strode purposefully down the street. One of the men was a westerner. The other man and the woman were Japanese. The westerner had wild black hair, an eye-patch over his left eye, and a threadbare suit. The Japanese man was taller that his counterpart, and handsome, with short, neat black hair, and a much nicer suit. The woman was beautiful, and also well dressed, with short black hair that was just a little untamed. All three carried themselves like warriors.

            Some people waved to the westerner as they saw him. He nodded back. One young man sized the three up and started casually moving toward them. His slightly older friend stopped him.

            "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

            "Whaddya think?"

            "You don't wanna do that. Don't you know who that guy with the eye-patch _is?"_

            "A tourist with a fat wallet?"

            "Geez- don't you kids know anything? That's Patch!" As his companions eyes bugged out, the other guy went on. "That's right- _that_ Patch. Try anything, and you'll be breathing out your ass the rest of your life!"

            As the trio passed the would-be pick-pocket and his friend, Patch slowed down.

            "Good call, kid," he told the younger kid, and then went on.

            "How did he know?" the kid breathed.

            "He always knows," his older friend nodded. "Cheer up kid! You got a Patch story of your own, now!"

            "If I didn't see it with my own eyes," the Japanese man said. "I knew you were famous, but I didn't realize you were this famous."

            "You said he was a legend, cousin," the woman grinned as she linked her arm with Patch's. "Did you think it was a figure of speech?"

            "You'll give me a swelled head," Patch smiled at her.

            "Not a word," the Japanese man broke in before the woman could respond. "I'm right here. Not a word."

            "You should have been called the Prudish Master," the woman muttered in Japanese, so quietly only the three of them could hear.

            Patch chuckled. So did the woman. The man did not.

            "Mariko!" he hissed.

            "For someone to know what I mean, they'd already have to know who we are," Mariko replied evenly. "You know that, Tommy."

            Soon, they were at their destination: the Law Offices of Landau, Luckman, and Lake, Hong Kong Division.

            "So this is the place, huh?" Mariko asked. "Doesn't look that impressive."

            "Neither do I," Patch smiled, remembering all the times he had spent there.

            "You said it, not me," Mariko grinned.

            That jostled Patch out of his reverie.

            "Am I gonna have to spank ya, 'Miko?"

            "Please," Mariko purred.

            "Oh please," Tommy moaned.

            "How can you be such a prude living at the Pit for so long?" Mariko demanded.

            "Yeah- even I know all about your laundry room," Logan added.

            "Can we please not talk about this?" Tommy asked, pained.

            "I have to apologize for him, Patch," Mariko said. "He's usually not like this. I think it has something to do with your friend, the tigress."

            "That's what I thought," Patch grinned. "So tell me, when you two met, did she break out her special _sake_?"

            "I refuse to answer that question," Tommy said evenly, even as his cheeks reddened slightly. Nobody would have noticed it- without ninja training.

            "I take it as a yes," Mariko grinned. "My cousin, the great, chaste warrior- hah!"

            "If Tyger was after him, he was chased alright," Patch grinned.

            "Shall we?" Tommy asked, quickly opening the door. Patch went through, followed by Mariko, and then Tommy.

            The interior of the Hong Kong Division of the Law Offices of Landau, Luckman, and Lake was much nicer than the exterior. Not that the trio had much time to observe it.

            "Logan!" a voice cried. Coming towards them was a large Chinese woman, in her early fifties. She hugged Patch- Logan- and he hugged back.

            "Been awhile, hasn't it, Rosie?" he smiled.

            "Too long," she agreed, and then stepped back and swatted him.

            "You don't call, you don't write, you don't even e-mail! What do you have to say for yourself?"

            "It's good to see you, Rose."

            "Good to see you, too. And who have you brought here, hmm?" Rose looked at Tommy and Mariko. Her eyes widened. "I see you travel in high company these days, Logan. They're not members of your spandex-set, now are they?" Tommy and Mariko looked at each other while Logan looked surprised.

            "What? You think I don't pay attention to television or watch CNN? You don't think I'd recognize you no matter what you wear?" Rose swatted Logan again. "Shame on you. Please, all of you, sit down."

            She led them into a room that was more lounge than office. While they sat down on a sofa, Rose rang for tea. A young girl came in, with a tray holding a pot of tea and four cups.

            "You remember my granddaughter Ruthie," Rose smiled.

            "Yup. How are you doing, Ruthie?"

            "Fine, Mister Patch," Ruthie smiled. "Grandmother, I need to-"

            "Of course, dear. Do your homework. I think we'll be talking business, anyway."

            Ruthie bowed and left.

            "Sweet girl," Rose said to no one in particular as she served the tea and sat down on a chair across the table from the sofa. "Now, Logan, what is it you want?"

            "You know me too well, Rose."

            "Yes, I do. Well enough to know that you wouldn't come here to Hong Kong accompanied by two members of the Arashikage Clan unless it was important business."

            Tommy and Mariko started.

            "Oh come now," Rose chided. "I'm a lawyer. It's my job to know all the regional players. Ninja clans have a habit of popping up in your backyard when you least expect them, so I have to know the major ones when I see them. You, young man, are Tommy Arashikage, the Young Master, and you, young lady, are Mariko, Tommy's cousin, and you are both members of GI Joe, where you're known as Storm Shadow and Jinx, respectively."

            Tommy and Mariko stood up, and bowed.

            "Correct in all respects, Ms-"

            "Please, call me Rose."

            "Correct in all respects, Rose, except I'm not the Young Master anymore," Tommy- Storm Shadow- said graciously.

            "Now, now, Mr. Arashikage- you can only truly leave a position like yours two ways- death or treachery. You are neither dead, nor a traitor to your clan."

            Mariko- Jinx- smiled as she sipped her tea. She liked Rose already. She had been saying those things to Tommy for years.

            "So, Logan, what does an… X-Man?.... and two members of GI Joe need help with?"

            "What's the Hand been up to lately?"

            Rose's smile left her face.

            "Please, Logan, don't get involved with them again."

            "Don't have a choice, Rose. We think they've got their mitts into one of our students." Logan briefly outlined the situation. Elisabeth Braddock, Psylocke, recent recruit to the Institute, knows moves only members of the Hand are taught. She couldn't have learned those moves from a non-member of the Hand. She has had contact with Emma Frost, a powerful telepath and member of the American Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, who knew about Psylocke's incredible psi-sensitivity, which she could not have known about unless she actively tried to do something to Elisabeth, and Elisabeth doesn't remember that ever happening. Therefore, the chance that there is collusion between Emma and the Hand is a high one.

            "Well, well," Rose said after Logan told her the situation. "There isn't that much to tell, I'm afraid. The Hand has been laying low for the past two years."

            "Why?" Logan asked.

            "There was a civil war in the Hand two years ago. One faction wanted to begin new contact with the West, for their technology. The other didn't. The higher-ups mostly killed each other, so by the time the smoke cleared, there wasn't anybody qualified enough or trusted enough to lead. Last I heard, an outsider took charge."

            "Who?" Storm Shadow asked.

            "I've heard that he's called the Mandarin, but I don't know anything more. I do know this, though." She leaned in. "Before the civil war, people talked. Even with the old punishments, they talked. Now, they don't. I don't know why."

            "Can't you ask anybody if they know anything more?" Jinx asked.

            "I can, but I won't get any replies. I keep as much of an active eye out for the Hand as I can, given the firm's policy of ignoring people that aren't threatening our clients or interests, which the Hand currently doesn't."

            "Ask anyway, Rose," Logan said. "Please."

            Rose nodded. "Of course. I'll put the word out. You should have an answer in a few hours."

***

            Hours later, after a fine lunch Rose provided, the last of her informants came in.

            "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," Rose said, and she meant it.

            "It's okay, Rose," he said as he hugged her. "I know somebody that should know more."

            "You're going to Madripoor, aren't you?" she asked.

            "Yup."

            "Logan-"

            "I got a way in that Nguyen can't stop. I can get in and out fast."

            "Nguyen?" Storm Shadow asked. "General Nguyen? The Generalissimo of Madripoor?"

            "That's him," Logan grunted.

            "What did you do to piss _him_ off?"

            "Want the list chronologically or alphabetically?" Logan asked.

            "Nguyen doesn't forget, Logan," Rose reminded him.

            "It's just an in-and-out thing," Logan said, shrugging. "He can't catch us, and if he does- its part of the fun, ain't it?"

            The ninjas bowed to Rose.

            "Thank you for having us," Storm Shadow said.

            "My pleasure," Rose smiled.

            "It was an honour meeting you," Jinx added.

            "The honour was mine, dear," Rose beamed.

            The three punched something into their wristwatches, and vanished. Rose whistled.

            "Teleportation devices? Logan, you have gone up in the world."

            And don't let that young woman get away from you, she silently added.

***

            Madripoor was different from Hong Kong- hell, it was different from any other city in the world. Spread out over a large portion of its island, it had an excess of both wealth and poverty unmatched by any other major city. The city had always been something of a cesspool. No matter who the nominal leaders were, the crimelords were always the ones in control. More often than not, they were running both the legitimate and illegitimate industries that kept the city running. The current administrator of Madripoor, Generalissimo Ngoc Coy Nguyen, was no exception, as he also ran the island's second largest syndicate. The largest syndicate, and by a very wide margin, was run by Tyger Tiger.

            Logan led Storm Shadow and Jinx quickly through the city. As much as he laughed it off, he didn't want to involve them in his personal battles against the city's scum. He stayed in his persona of Patch- his reputation was both a target and a shield. If Patch was a legend in the rest of Asia, he was doubly so in Madripoor. He chose to arrive in this part of Madripoor on purpose. The people in this neighbourhood remembered him, and were grateful. They wouldn't tell Nguyen where he was. And, there was someone nearby he could count on.

            Finally, they had arrived at the Princess Bar. Logan knocked. A hatch on the door opened and closed. The door opened, and Logan entered. Jinx and Storm Shadow were right behind him.

            The Princess Bar was an elegant place. It was spacious, with many tables and private booths. It greatly resembled Rick's bar from 'Casablanca.' Logan breathed in the air as he saw the old place again. It hadn't changed, and probably never would. Old memories flooded back into him- for example, that table was the one that Seraph stood on when she told off Von Strucker and his aide back in '41.

            "Well, look what the cat dragged in," a woman's voice came by the door. The speaker was a tall American woman in her late twenties to early thirties. She had black hair and green eyes, and a wry expression. She hugged Logan, and he hugged back.

            "I was beginning to think I'd never see you again, you old son of a bitch," the woman laughed. "Thought Nguyen scared you off."

            "Yeah right," Logan laughed. "Mariko, Tommy, this is an old friend of mine. Jessica Drew."

            "Tommy?" Jessica asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it was 'Storm Shadow.'"

            "It still is," Storm Shadow said neutrally. "Hello, Jessica. It's good to see you again."

            "Likewise," Jessica grinned. "So are you a Joe, too?" she asked Jinx.

            "Yeah. They call me Jinx."

            "Pleased to meet you Jinx. So, Logan, what brings you here?"

            "I need to talk to the tiger."

            "Gotcha. I don't know where she is right now, but she'll be coming by later tonight."

            "Tonight, when this place opens," a new voice said from another door, presumably leading to the back.

            A woman walked up to Logan. She was a dwarf, with greying blond hair done up in a bun, and a 40's style dress. She stopped when she reached Logan. They looked at each other for a while, then Logan knelt and they hugged. It wasn't the way he hugged Rose or Jessica- it was like the hug a son might give his mother.

            "You look well, Logan," she said after they let go and Logan stood up.

            "So do you," he said a little hoarsely, and his eyes shone with what must have been tears. "Mariko, Storm Shadow, this… this is an old friend of mine, named Seraph. Seraph, Storm Shadow and Jinx are with GI Joe, and Jinx- Mariko… she's with me."

            "Yes, I remember Storm Shadow," Seraph said gravely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jinx. Welcome to my home and business, the Princess Bar."

            "The honour is ours, ma'am," Jinx replied as she and Storm Shadow bowed to Seraph.

            "Please, sit down," Seraph bade, as she gestured to a small booth. Jessica and Seraph sat down on one side, Storm Shadow, Jinx, and Logan on the other.

            "So what finally brings you back here?" Seraph asked.

            "Hand problems," Logan said curtly. Seraph sighed.

            "Tracked you down, have they?" she asked.

            "Not exactly," he grunted, and told them Psylocke's story.

            "Hmm…" Seraph said, "not their usual style, I agree, but they are under new management."

            "So we've heard," Jinx told her. "Some guy called the Mandarin."

            "Yes, that's him," Seraph nodded. "The things I've heard… well, I'll let Tyger tell you that when she gets here. So, Jinx… that's an interesting codename you have."

            "Yeah," Jinx laughed. "My real name is Mariko, ma'am."

            "Please- call me Seraph, both of you. And let me have a look at you, child." Seraph took a long look at Jinx's face, then sat back, apparently satisfied by what she saw.

            "You've chosen well, Logan," Seraph smiled. Logan nodded, and Jinx grinned. She liked this lady already. As for Storm Shadow…

            "Oh, don't look like that, _Tommy_," Jessica smiled wickedly. "You're not jealous, are you?"

            "Mariko is my cousin, Jessica," Storm Shadow told her, a little surprised.

            "Ah- then you're being protective. You should be worrying about yourself, for when Tyger gets here."

            "Oh!" Seraph grinned. "So this is the one. I never did learn which Joe it was."

            "Uh-huh," Jessica laughed. Storm Shadow went slightly red again.

            "Tyger speaks very highly of you, young man," Seraph smiled. "You… greatly impressed her."

            "I see," Storm Shadow managed. His ninja calm was all but gone.

            "Don't worry," Jessica laughed. "We won't let her slip you any of her special _sake."_

            "Special _sake_?" Jinx asked, noting that this was the second time she had heard of it. Logan broke out in a big grin.

            "Yeah," he laughed. "If Tyger ever decided to market the stuff- well, picture a cross between Viagra and an aphrodisiac."

            "It's that good?"

            "Oh, _yes," both Logan and Storm Shadow nodded._

            "Well, as much fun as it is talking about Tyger's love life," Jessica smirked, "I'd rather hear about you, Logan. Specifically, how the X-Men got involved with GI Joe."

            "You know about that Logan's an X-Man?" Jinx asked, surprised.

            "Yeah. Jess is a mutant too," Logan nodded.

            "You didn't any mutant abilities when you helped us against Cobra," Storm Shadow noted.

            "Yeah, well," Jessica looked uncomfortable, "the truth is, I don't like to use my powers unless it's absolutely necessary."

            "I see."

            "So, Logan," Seraph broke in, "will you and your friends stay until Tyger shows up."

            "Don't see that we've got a choice," Logan shrugged.

            "Agreed," Jinx nodded. "If Tyger Tiger is the best source of information we have, then we need to wait, don't we?"

            Logan and Storm Shadow nodded. Despite the danger, it was good being back in Madripoor.

            Of course, neither knew that it was about to get more dangerous. The trio were recognized by two different informants as they went to the Princess Bar. One went to General Nguyen with the news that Patch was back in Madripoor. The other left a message that two Joes had come to Madripoor. He left the message with the local offices of Extensive Enterprises.

**Well, that's Chapter One. You know the drill- read, review, etc. Please? For me? I know- no action in this chapter, but I had to save something for Chapter Three. In the meantime, get ready for what the Misfits, X-Men, and Joes are doing, next time on "The Mutant Massacre":**

**Chapter Two: Driving Me Mad!**


	3. Car Trouble!

**Chapter Two: Driving Me Mad!**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

            A/N: This chapter happens concurrently with Chapter One.

"Woo hoo!" Kitty crowed as she raced down to the front doors. "Obstacle course here I come!"

            "Yay," Scott moaned. He hoped he wouldn't have to do this, but the Professor was busy, Storm had conveniently gone to visit her sister, Beast was God-knows-where, Logan was on a mission or something for the Professor, Remy was off on a date with Rogue, Peter couldn't be found, and Jean… told Scott he was cut off unless he did this.

            "Can't a wounded guy catch a break?" Scott muttered. After all, it was only an hour ago that the pain went away- at least enough to permit most kinds of movement.

            "Scott," a quiet, sheepish, English voice came from behind him. Elisabeth was standing there, looking greatly embarrassed.

            "Look, about last night, I'm really, really sorry about what happened," she blushed as she said that for the umpteenth time since the accidental kick to his… Scott winced. He didn't even want to think about it. Note to self- wear a cup at all times.

            "It's okay, really," he said. He just wanted to forget the whole thing. There was no lasting damage- Mr. McCoy assured him he'd still be able to have children, and he did finally manage to get both his balls back into position.

            "Look," Elisabeth went on, "if there's something you want to do to me in return… it's okay, just go ahead and do it so we can be even."

            "It's okay," Scott said again, more forcefully. "I'm…" Scott stopped as an evil thought occurred to him. Elisabeth was too young to legally do the full treatment to, but she hadn't yet been exposed to the horror. He had to be tricky- he didn't want his victim to figure out her gruesome fate until it was too late.

            "Actually," Scott said, hoping she wouldn't pick up on anything, "if you want to make it up to me, you could by me an ice cream at Baskin Robbins in the mall."

            "Sure," Elisabeth said brightly. Ice cream? Scott was letting her off lightly. If she did that to Brian or Jamie, she'd be forced to be their slave for at least a month.

            "Just let me take Kitty to the obstacle course. Then we can go out."

            "Why wait?" Elisabeth asked. "Why don't I come along? That way, when Kitty's done, she can drive us to the mall. I can even buy her an ice cream too."

            "Great!" Kitty chirped.

            "Let's go!" Scott grinned. She had taken the bait.

***

            An hour later, Scott and Kitty helped Elisabeth back into the mansion.

            "Uhh…" Elisabeth groaned. Her face was pale.

            "Do you have her, Scott?" Kitty asked. "Geez- I wonder what was like, wrong with that ice cream? We should sue!"

            "Never mind," Scott groaned.

            "I'll go get her a Pepto-Bismol or something," Kitty said as she went to the bathroom. Scott scooped Elisabeth, and took her to her room.

            "Driving with her was your revenge, wasn't it?" Elisabeth asked.

            "Yeah," Scott moaned.

            "Oh. Well, then… I take back my apology for throwing up in your car."

            "That's okay," Scott managed. "Oh- and we're even now."

            "Good," Elisabeth smiled weakly as Scott laid her on the bed.

            "At least until I royally kick your arse for this," she muttered after he left.

***

            After giving Elisabeth her stomach medicine, Kitty went to her room, where a surprise was waiting for her.

            Lance was in her room, sobbing his eyes out. He was holding onto Lockheed like Lockheed was a stuffed animal. Lockheed usually only let Kitty do that. Then Kitty realized that Lance was squeezing Lockheed so tightly that her baby dragon couldn't breathe fire at all- or anything else.

            "Lance?" Kitty asked. That got his attention.

            "Kitty!" he sobbed as he latched on to her. From behind him, Kitty could see her dragon fall limply to the bed, and take many deep breaths. She phased through Lance so she could tend to Lockheed.

            "Lance, like, what's wrong?" she asked as she checked Lockheed over.

            "It was terrible!" Lance cried as he latched on to Kitty from behind. "Pietro… Beach Head… dead!" were the only words that Kitty could make out through all the crying.

            "Oh my god! Pietro and Beach Head are dead?"

            "No!" Lance cried. With difficulty, Kitty managed to sit him down.

            "Okay then, Lance, just calm down and tell me what happened."

***

            "You should have seen it," Wanda snickered as Peter sketched her.

            They were out in the mansion's grounds. Wanda was stretched out on a tree branch, and Peter was sitting on the ground, looking up and sketching her.

            "I can just imagine," Peter smirked. He remembered all the frustration Magneto had when he tried to do it.

***

            "Well," Lance sniffed, "Shipwreck decided it was time to teach the Misfits how to drive. Freddy, Wanda, and I can, but we're the only ones. It was going just fine for a first lesson, until it was time for Pietro to drive. He wanted to drive my jeep, and Shipwreck let him!"

***

            "No, you can't imagine," Wanda laughed. "It was bad, even for him. See, he's never driven a standard before. It was a nightmare!"

***

            "He went through buildings," Lance cried.

***

            "He almost ran over Bazooka and Alpine," Wanda laughed.

***

            "And then he drove my baby through the mess hall…"

***

            "Where B.A. was working on yet another _delightful seaweed dish…"_

***

            "Which came to life!" Lance moaned.

***

            "And started to chase Lance and my idiot brother around the Pit."

***

            "Pietro headed for everybody's quarters," Lance hiccupped.

***

            "Where they disrupted Ace's illegal poker game, and somehow started a fight between Leatherneck and Wet Suit over whose fault it was. Leatherneck said it was Pietro, because Pietro was driving, and Wet Suit blamed Lance for not grabbing the wheel."

            "Those two don't need much to go at it," Peter laughed.

            "No, they don't, and that wasn't even the best part."

            "Oh? What happened then?"

***

            "Well, Pietro tried to drive- again- and I couldn't stop him," Lance sniffled. "I didn't wanna rock his world, 'cause my baby was banged up enough. He got the jeep around and tried to go forward, but the gear shift got stuck because of how fast that idiot was switching gears, and he finally made us go in reverse at 100 mph!"

            "Oh no!" Kitty cried.

***

            "Oh yes!" Wanda guffawed. "And guess whose house he crashed into? I'll give you a hint- he's an asshole, and he's obsessed with a teddy bear."

            "Beach Head?!?"

            "Yup- right when Beach Head was cleaning Sgt Snuffles. Of course, when Pietro crashed through the wall, he got Sgt Snuffles dirty."

            "Uh oh!"

***

            "Uh oh is right! Beach Head went nuts!"

            "What happened?" Kitty gasped.

            "Pietro was smart enough to hightail it out of there, and he took me with him, so Beach Head took it out on my baby!"  
  


            "He attacked the jeep?"

            "He started tearing it to pieces with his bare hands!!!"

***

            "The jeep still might have still been able to be fixed, even after all that," Wanda finished, "but B.A.'s creation caught up to them, and… well, while Beach Head was tearing one half of the jeep apart, the monster was eating the other half. You can't even fit the largest remaining pieces in a glass!"

***

            "And that's how my poor baby died!" Lance sobbed. Kitty was holding him, letting him cry it all out.

            "There, there," Kitty whispered soothingly even as she planned to tear a strip off of Pietro the next time she saw him. It was idiots like Pietro that made driving dangerous for safe drivers like Lance and her!

**And there's a comic interlude. Our merry mutants are going to value easy times like these, because things are gonna get very bad very soon! Next time, several old friends pay a visit to the Princess Bar and a fight results, so stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre":**

**Chapter Three: Tyger Tiger, Burning Bright!**


	4. Tyger, Tiger, Burning Bright!

**Chapter Three: Tyger, Tiger, Burning Bright!**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

            Later that night, people started to come to the Princess Bar. They were a mix of foreigners and locals, rich and poor, well dressed and not so much, male and female (etc., etc.).

            Jinx took a look around the room, mingling, blending in until this… Tyger Tiger came by.

            "Great place, isn't it?" Jessica asked her.

            "Yeah," Jinx agreed. She'd never been anywhere like it, that's for sure.

            Suddenly, Jessica started laughing. Taking a look at where the other woman was looking, all Jinx saw was a man sitting between two women. The three looked up, and saw Jessica. One of the women waved. Her companions blushed and looked down.

            "What's so funny?" Jinx asked.

            "See the man and the women over there?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Well, the two that are blushing are married."

            "So?"

            "So, a while back, they came to me- separately- and told me that they suspected that the other one was having an affair. They hired me to watch each other."

            "And did you?"

            "Oh yeah," Jessica snorted. "It turns out that neither one was having an affair- as such."

            "As such?"

            "Yup. Turns out that both hubby and wifey get their kicks out of being spanked. They went to the same place to get their kicks- the Red Lash."

            "Yeah?"

            "Yeah. You see the woman with them?"

"Don't tell me-" Jinx laughed.

            "Yup- she serviced hubby on his lunch breaks and wifey later in the afternoon. Well, after a week of stringing them along and laughing my ass off, I called the three of them to my office. After watching my clients sputter for a while, I explained the situation and gave back some of my pay to apologize for almost giving them heart attacks. I suggested that they start planning their social events together, and I guess they took my advice."

            Jinx and Jessica shared a laugh.

            "So you must be a private investigator," Jinx said when she stopped laughing.

            "Uh-huh," Jessica smiled. "I'm one half of Drew-McCabe Investigations. My partner, Lindsay McCabe, is in America right now, visiting her folks, leaving me to hold the fort."

            "Partner?"

            "Fellow PI- and don't worry- I'm not one of Logan's many conquests."

            "_Many conquests?"_

            "Uh oh," Jessica laughed, "did I just get the Canucklehead in trouble?"

            "That depends on _how_- Canucklehead?"

            "An old nickname."

            "Ah."

            The two were quiet for a moment.

            "So, Jessica, if you don't mind my asking- how did you meet Logan?"

            "He helped me get started here as a favour to a mutual friend, name of Nick Fury."

            "You know Col. Fury?"

            "Oh yeah," Jessica nodded, and then frowned.

Jinx sensed it was a sore subject, so she let it drop.

"So did Professor Xavier try to recruit you to his Institute?" Jinx asked, although she had a good idea of the answer.

"He did- and still does, from time to time- but I turned him down, obviously. I'm happy here. I mean, okay, it's an absolute shithouse, but I've met some of the most interesting people alive in my time here, and some of the nicest, and some of the finest, and a lot of my best friends were made here, so what the hell? I can take the bad if it means I get the good. Besides," Jessica suddenly frowned, "my relationship with my abilities is… bittersweet. I've done some things that… can't be taken back, and I figure that young mutants shouldn't become unduly afraid of what they can do, which is something I might accidentally teach them."

"Is one of your best friends Tyger Tiger?"

"Yeah," Jessica said after a moment, "she is. But don't let her know that! See, Tyger's not evil. She's no saint, and no one will say that she is, but she's about as good a person as a crimelord can be. She ended the slave- forgive me, _free worker- trade, she doesn't deal much in heavy drugs, and she usually doesn't run guns. Madripoor seems to need a crimelord- it always has- and for my money, I'd rather live with Tyger Tiger in charge than anybody else. Yeah, so when somebody's threatening to bring her organization down, a lot of us help out, because we know the alternative- which would be Generalissimo Ngoc Coy Nguyen, who is a right bastard."_

"He's that bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah." More silence.

            "So," Jinx finally asked, "how did you see my cousin without his mask? He always wears it on- open duty."

            "He was wearing it, or trying to," Jessica wickedly grinned, "but he wasn't using it to cover his face."

            Jinx burst out laughing.

            "That Tyger, she's insatiable," Jessica went on. "Your friends had to practically yank her off of him!"

            Jessica joined Jinx in laughing. Across the room, Logan smiled as he watched them. Jess was a friend- a good one. He was glad that Mariko got along with his old friends (old as in pre X-Men days).

            "It's serious between you two, isn't it?" Seraph asked him from where she was standing (to his right).

            "I think so," Logan smiled.

            "Then it's has to be," Seraph said as she got up to stand on the unused table next to him. "You're not being sure is the best clue. Well, that and the way you look at her- I've never seen you look at anyone quite like that. If she means that much to you, don't you dare let her go!"

            "That's the plan," Logan grunted, and took a swig of his beer (Molson Canadian, which Seraph always kept around just in case he ever showed up, bless her).

            "I want to see you get married one day, young man," Seraph went on. Logan smiled- she was one of the few people that could call him 'young man' and actually have it be true.

            "We'll see," he replied noncommittally, if only to get Seraph's hair up.

            "Why you-" but Logan cut her off by pointing over at Storm Shadow. A woman that Logan hadn't seen in far too long was managing to sneak up on him.

            "Hello, Tommy," a low voice said into Storm Shadow's ear. Turning around, he saw Tyger Tiger, dark eyes blazing, smiling seductively at him.

            "It has been a long time, Jessan," Storm Shadow bowed. If she was going to drop names, she deserved to know that he could remember names too.

            "You remember," she smiled.

            "Of course. It- it is good to see you again."

            "And it's good to see you, and I'd love to show you around the city, but somehow, I think you're here on business, and for some reason, I think it's with me."

            "You are correct, as always," Storm Shadow nodded. "But your business is with me, and with her," he nodded over at Jinx, "and especially with him," he gesture at Logan. Tyger's eyes widened.

            "Lo- Patch?" she whispered.

            "I know his name," Storm Shadow told her.

            "Why am I not surprised?" Tyger linked her arm through Storm Shadow's and dragged him to where Logan and Seraph were talking.

            "Tyger," Logan nodded.

            "Patch," she responded.

            They stared at each other for a while before embracing.

            "It has been a long time, Logan," Tyger whispered.

            "Too long, Jessan," he whispered back. They broke the embrace.

            "So, what is your business with me?" Tyger asked softly, so only Logan, Seraph, Storm Shadow, Jinx, and Jessica- who had joined the group when they spotted Tyger- could hear.

            "In the back," Seraph muttered. "You know where. I have to stay out here, but Jessica goes with you."

            "Okay," Logan shrugged. The five went into the back, and opened up a well-concealed room that was reserved for private meetings.

            "This is serious, isn't it?" Tyger asked. "What do you need?"

            Logan recapped the Psylocke situation for her.

            "That is serious," she frowned.

            "So what can you tell us about the Hand? Rose in Hong Kong told us about their civil war, and about the Mandarin."

            "Well, to start with, the Hand is still rebuilding. There's not much to tell because they haven't done anything big yet. But something's coming," Tyger shuddered. "I've met the Mandarin."

            "That bad, huh?" Jinx asked.

            "You have no idea. He's… got powers."

            "He's a mutant?" Logan asked, extremely interested.

            "No, I don't think so. He has these rings- ten of them. They can do things- they can make him fly, allow him to incinerate or freeze things… even to disintegrate someone. He met with me, and gave the usual new crimelord speech- 'new management,' 'hope you can work with us,' 'stay out of our way,' 'can and will kill you.' He killed one of his own men just to make that point. I heard that every time he met with a major player, he did the same thing, and I believe it."

            The others knew why Tyger was unnerved. Killing someone who worked for the person you were threatening to make a point was one thing, but killing your own man to make a point required insanity or profound cruelty. If the Mandarin killed his own men to make a point, especially if it was just for the effect of it, then he was someone to be greatly respected (as no crimelord would ever admit to fear).

            "Is he capable of messing with people's minds like that? I'd have to say yes, and he would ally with anyone he had to in order to do it, if he decided to do it. But I don't know what this Frost woman would get out of it. Unless…" Tyger suddenly frowned.

            "Unless," Storm Shadow prompted.

            "Normally, I wouldn't bring this up, but… shortly after the dust settled, I heard a rumour. I'd usually just discount it, but I heard it too many times and from too many people to just ignore it. It's about a young ninja, who is only half-Japanese. The ninja's master was killed in the war, and the young man was, by honour, supposed to avenge his master's death and then kill himself."

            "_Seppuku," Jinx nodded. "Go on."_

            "Well, the master was avenged, and unlike the rest of the ninjas, this young man didn't kill himself. The leaders of the Hand were pissed- they ordered his execution for his dishonour, but the ninja's western parent, who is rich and powerful, caught wind of this, and arranged a deal to spare the ninja's life. The ninja was booted out of the Hand, and their ninjas were ordered on pain of not-dying to do nothing to him, or to even approach him ever again."

            The three ninja disciples looked at each other in shock. The Hand was a Japanese organization, which held to the old ways. For the leadership of the Hand to agree to let such a blatant disregard of _giri_ slide was incredible!

            "Do you know any names?" Jessica asked. She wasn't a ninja disciple, so she wasn't shocked in the least.

            "None. It was the last rumour I heard about the Hand, too. The Mandarin came into power not long after." 

"I gather it's scandalous?" Jessica asked.

            "If it's true?" Jinx asked. "Oh, yeah."

            "That could be the connection we're looking for," Storm Shadow mused. "Spare one dishonourable ninja; get an army of mutant ninja in return."

            "Your theory is looking more plausible now, doesn't it?" Tyger asked.

            "Yeah," Logan said grimly.

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting and screaming came from outside. The five went to investigate.

            As Logan left the room, he stopped and sniffed.

            "Sabretooth," he growled.

            "Creed? Here?" Jessica asked. "But Nguyen exiled him, too, didn't he?"

            "He rescinded it a while back," Tyger said grimly. "He needed Sabretooth to hunt some kids who had the audacity to assault his statue with rocks."

            "So that's what happened to them!" Jessica gasped. "If I ever get my hands on that…"

            "Take a number, Jess," Tyger growled.

            "Get out here, 'Patch!'" a bestial voice roared. "I got some business with ya!"

            Emerging from the back, they saw Sabretooth standing tall in the middle of the room, holding a frightened woman by the throat. He was surrounded by unmoving bodies.

            Jinx growled and went to move.

            "Hold it, ninja," another voice said calmly. Turning, she saw a tall, lean man with black shoulder-length hair and a moustache pointing a strange looking (but huge) gun at her.

            "Grey Crow," Logan said, not looking at the man, "put the gun down. I'm not here ta kick your ass, bub, but that can change."

            "Sorry, Wolverine," Grey Crow said passively. "See, I've got business with Creed, and he won't be in the business mood until he fights you. I'm on a deadline, so kindly beat up on each other before I have to step in."

            "I can handle this, Scalphunter," Sabretooth snarled. He looked at Logan. "I ain't getting any younger, runt."

            Wolverine unsheathed his claws.

            "Where's Seraph?" he demanded.

            "Right here," Seraph said, stepping out from behind the bar carrying a sawed off shotgun. "Put that thing down, Grey Crow. You know which one of us is faster. And you-" she directed to Sabretooth, "you put her down. The people that come in here are my guests, and are under my protection. Understood?" Scalphunter lowered his weapon. Sabretooth didn't lower the woman.

            "Not until I get what I want," he snarled. Logan stepped toward him.

            "Not in here!" Seraph shouted.

            "Put her down, Creed, an' you and me, we step outside. Deal?"

            "Deal," Sabretooth grinned. He threw the woman to the ground. After a nod from Seraph, Jessica went to check on the woman. Logan and Sabretooth went to the door, Jinx, Storm Shadow, and Tyger followed, watching but not interfering. The door slammed open before either man could open it.

            "NOBODY MOVE!" a voice screamed as several members of the General's personal guard rushed into the Princess Bar. Within moments, the soldiers had guns trained on almost everybody, with those left over trained at Wolverine and Sabretooth.

            "Patch," a voice said pleasantly as its owner entered the room, "I would say it is good to see you again, but I must wonder at what you are doing in a city you have been exiled from." The speaker was a tall man in an overcoat, carrying a machine gun.

            "Nguyen," Logan replied evenly. "I'd say it's good ta see you too, but I'm wondering at how they managed to get ya down from your ceiling."

            "Oh, it wasn't easy, what with the five layers of duct tape you used to put me up there," General Ngoc Coy Nguyen smiled.

            "I'll bet," Logan smiled.

            "You'd win. Oh look, there's something on your wrist." Nguyen shot the teleportation watch off of Logan's wrist. Made of adamantium, it wasn't destroyed, but it wasn't of any use to him until he could get it. Figures Nguyen would recognize a top-secret device the moment he saw it. Logan wondered how many palms Nguyen had to grease to even know of the teleporter's existence.

            "Seraph," Nguyen said, nodding to her, "I would question why you didn't inform me of this criminal's presence the moment he came here, but I know that you are a weak old woman, and young, strong men frighten you- as well they should."

            "Yeah?" Logan asked. "So what are you going to do about your new criminal element?"

            "Creed," Nguyen smiled. Sabretooth's eyes went wild with anticipation. "Get out of the way."

            "What?" Sabretooth roared. "He's mine!"  
  


            "Get out of the way, or get shot down- it's your decision!" Nguyen snapped. Grumbling, Sabretooth did so.

            "Now, Logan, aka Patch, aka Wolverine, aka more aliases than I'm aware of, I'm sure," Nguyen smiled as he and his men raised their guns and pointed them at him, "you have been found on Madripoor after you were legally exiled for the crimes you committed during your last stay. As you are in violation of the No Return Act, you shall be executed immediately, in the name of His Highness, Prince Baran."

            "There's no such thing as the No Return Act!" Seraph shouted.

            "It was drafted an hour ago, and came into effect at about, oh, right now," the General smirked.

            "You can't do that!" Jessica snapped.

            "Ah, Ms. Drew. I thought I saw you here. I think you'll find that as administrator of Madripoor, I can do almost anything I please to uphold the laws of our precious home. Now, Logan, I find you guilty of High Crimes against Madripoor and sentence you to death. I do so in the name of His Highness, Prince-"

            "COBRAAAAAA!" Cobra soldiers shouted as they entered the Princess Bar. They were followed by the Dreadnoks, riding their motorcycles through the windows.

            All hell broke loose.

            The Madripoor soldiers fired on the Cobras, who fired back.

            The bystanders made for the door en masse.

            The Dreadnoks went for Storm Shadow and Jinx, even as Sabretooth attacked Logan.

            Storm Shadow and Zartan were already trading blows, Jinx squared off against Zarana, and Tyger and Jessica took on Zanya and Zandar, while Seraph and Grey Crow were making Ripper, Buzz Saw, Road Pig, and Torch dive for cover.

            From his position behind a table, Nguyen saw Logan, and shot him twice in the stomach. There was no way he would be cheated of his revenge!

            "Ahh!" Logan cried as he went down. Sabretooth grinned and prepared to finish off his enemy. Jessica saw him. In one swift motion, Zandar was on his back, and she pointed her hands at Sabretooth. A bolt of crackling greenish-yellow energy flew from her hands and hit Sabretooth. The mutant yelled in pain, and then dropped unconscious.

            "So that's what you can do, huh?" Jinx called.

            "Among other things," Jessica called back.

            "The bird's a mutant!" Zandar shouted.

            "I noticed!" Zartan called back as Storm Shadow put him on the defensive.

            After a few minutes more of the melee, Zartan managed to get away from Storm Shadow long enough to shout "Cobra! Retreat!"

            'Damn, I just quoted that face-plated coward!' he groaned mentally.

            The Dreadnoks got on their bikes and hightailed it out of there, as the Cobra soldiers retreated too, pursued by the General's troops.

            From his hiding place, Nguyen stood up, only to feel cold metal slash his stomach. He cried out, and fell down. Looking up, he saw a very angry Logan looking down at him.

            "That was for the shots," he growled. "And to make us even, I only used two claws. But don't worry- you an' me, we ain't done yet." He left the bar, followed by Storm Shadow, Jinx, Jessica, and Tyger.

            "No, we are not done yet," Nguyen whispered before he started hollering for a doctor.

***

            "Well, that was fun," Jinx smirked as they stopped in the alley that she, Storm Shadow, and Logan used as an entrance.

            "It's been a while since I had a good bar brawl," Logan grunted.

            "How are you feeling, Logan?" Tyger asked him.

            "Just peachy, Tyger. I just have to get these bullets out is all."

            "I see. Well then…" her voice trailed off. It was time for them to go.

            "Goodbye Logan," she whispered as she hugged him. "Be well."

            "Stay well, Jessan," he whispered as he hugged her back.

            It was Jessica's turn to hug Logan.

            "Tell Seraph- no. She'll know," Logan said.

            "Will do. Bye, Logan. Don't be a stranger."

            "Never, darlin'."

            Jinx and Jessica hugged, and Tyger went up to Storm Shadow.

            "Don't you be a stranger, either, sexy," she purred as she leaned in to kiss him. One hand pinched his buttock. "Mmm- firm as ever."

            "Be well, Tyger," he muttered, as he openly blushed.

            "Oh, I plan to."

            After Tyger shook Jinx's hand, and Storm Shadow shook Jessica's hand, the three visitors teleported away.

            "So what now?" Jessica asked.

            "Now, we see if we can't find out more about the Hand," Tyger said firmly, and Jessica nodded. "You agree? Good. Consider yourself hired."

***

            Sabretooth returned to consciousness freezing. Somebody had thrown a bucket full of cold water on him.

            "Glad to see you're awake," Grey Crow said sardonically.

            "Don't tell me the runt did this to me," Sabretooth muttered.

            "Nope. It turns out that Ms. Drew is a mutant. She zapped you in the back."

            "When I-"

            "Don't push your luck. Besides- we're here to talk business, remember?"

            "Yeah? So talk."

            Grey Crow smiled.

            "How long has it been since your bucket-headed boss let you have a vacation?"

            "Too long. Why?"

            "Well, how'd you like to go hunting with me and some… friends?"

            "If I wanna hunt dumb animals-"

            "Who said you'd be hunting animals?"

***

            By the time they got to the Princess Bar, the General was being carted off to the hospital by an ambulance.

            "This weak old woman hopes that you get well soon, General," Seraph said brightly as the doors closed on the snarling Nguyen.

            As the ambulance drove away, Seraph began to chuckle. She, and her bar, had been important fixtures in Madripoor since before Nguyen was even born. He knew all too well how she felt about him, and that she tacitly (and sometimes actively) supported his enemies, but he could never prove it. He could make her disappear, but she was too well like among the people of Madripoor, and she had many powerful friends internationally. If she ever vanished, he wouldn't last much longer as Administrator of Madripoor, and they both knew it.

            Minutes later, her friends returned to the bar, and they went inside, to survey the damage.

            Jessica gasped. She had never seen the Bar look so bad. She could only guess at how Seraph was feeling.

            "Jessica, how much would you say it costs to fix this place back up?" Seraph asked quietly.

            Jessica tried to tally the damage.

            "A whole whack of money," she finally said.

            "Tyger, how much would _you_ say I'd have to spend to fix this place?"

            "A great deal of money," Tyger finally said. She could accurately appraise the value of stolen artwork, could calculate the cost of British Columbian marijuana down to the last milligram, but insurance was beyond her.

            Suddenly, Seraph smiled broadly.

            "Ladies, what's the value of knowing that my insurance company, owned by our dear General Nguyen, will pay for every last cent of repairs?"

            Jessica and Tyger looked at each other, grinned broadly, and looked down at Seraph.

            "Priceless," they said in unison.

**Well, say bye-bye to Madripoor! This is the last we'll see of her for a while- or is it? Next time, on "The Mutant Massacre," Pietro pays a visit to the Institute, lust is in the air, and dating hijinks ensue. Stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre":**

**Chapter Four: Dating Difficulties!**


	5. Dating Difficulties!

**Chapter Four: Dating Difficulties!**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

            Pietro Maximoff snuck around the Institute. He wasn't much accustomed to sneaking- unless a practical joke was involved- but the odds were good that Lance was here, and he really didn't wanna come across Lance. It took Ace, Leatherneck, Snow Job, Wet Suit, and Dusty together to keep Lance off of him until Spirit showed up and calmed Lance down. Pietro could sort of understand Lance- that jeep was Lance's baby, but it was obviously a lemon, a strange thing considering that Cover Girl picked it out and Lance had been maintaining it, but hey- these things happen. He knew that when Lance calmed down, he'd thank him for demonstrating how dangerous the thing really was! But, until then…

            Pietro stuck his head into a room, where somebody was laying down. It wasn't Lance. It was… hey! It was Elisabeth Braddock, Psylocke, the newest X-Geek, and (in his opinion) the sexiest. She wasn't asleep; he could see her eyes were open. It was so obvious that she was related to Bree- the height, the gorgeous golden blond hair, the blue-green eyes, that amazingly fabulously constructed body… racing to a mirror, he checked himself out- perfectly perfect in every way, as always, but it never hurt to check- and zipped back to the room. He knocked on the door.

            "Come in," her voice came from inside.

            "Hello!" he said as he appeared at her bedside. He flashed his most perfect smile (and coming from him, that was saying something).

            "So, what's a girl like you doing in a joint like this?"

            "Well," she said as she sat up, "if you mean the Institute, the Professor is helping me with my telepathy, but if you mean the room, well, after last night's… incident with Scott-" she blushed, and Pietro couldn't help but wince (some things even Summers didn't deserve!), "he had me go with him earlier today… while he took Kitty driving."

            "Yikes!" Pietro shuddered. He felt his respect for Cyclops rise (well, he felt his disrespect lessen, at any rate). He didn't know that Scott had that level of cruelty in him! Although, objectively, he knew that Scooter-boy was probably letting her off easier than he would have. Still… it was terrible drivers like Kitty that put perfect drivers like him at risk on the road.

            "Quite," Elisabeth agreed. "Well, then he had Kitty take us to the mall, where I bought them both an ice cream- which was how he duped me into going with them in the first place- and I threw up in Scott's car on the way back."

            "You threw up in Summers' car?" Pietro asked. When Elisabeth nodded, he exploded with laughter. After a moment, Elisabeth joined in, her light chuckle managing to be heard through Pietro's perfect belly-laugh.

            He looked at her for a moment. Damn, but she was perfect. So far, she was the first X-Geek who was as perfect as he was- the first person period, come to think of it.

            "So, besides the mansion and the mall, what have you seen?"

            "Nothing, yet. I go to Bayville High next week, because that's when a new term begins, and I haven't seen anything else- I've been too busy with the routine here- huh. Listen to me- I've not even been here 24 hours and I'm already complaining. You must think I'm some sort of whiny beast."

            "Not at all," Pietro grinned. "You're just telling it like it is. Say- what are you doing tonight?" If I'm lucky, nothing, then I can show her the town, and then…

            "Tonight? Nothing. We've already had a Danger Room session this morning, and as I said the school is getting up to end of term, so all the students are busy with revision- at least, that's what they're supposed to be busy with. Tomorrow morning is another Danger Room session, and that's it. Would you like to show me around town?"

            "Huh?" Pietro asked. Damn- how did she know? She wasn't reading his mind, was she?

            "Well, I don't really know anybody here yet, and while I guess I'm supposed to, I'd rather not go out with somebody that might say 'This is Elisabeth! She kicked Scott in the testicles last night!' No, wait. It would be wrong of me to have you show me the town. I mean, after all, I should be able to trust my teammates. Would you like to go out on a date?"

            Pietro blinked. What the hell?

            "I know, I'm sorry, you must think I'm very forward, but I find you very sexy, and I'd like to get to know you."

            Pietro stared. And then grinned.

            "Well, let me check my schedule." He flipped through his daytime planner. "Hmm… you're in luck! I don't have anything important I have to do tonight!"

            "Great," Elisabeth smiled. "Would you like to see a movie?"

            "Sure! Which one?"

            "Hmm… to be honest, I don't know what's playing. Why don't you meet me at the movie theatre- the one in the mall- at 6:30- there should be something playing around then."

            "Great! See you then," Pietro smiled. He leaned in, and kissed her on the cheek before zipping off.

            Elisabeth stared after him dreamily. She began to search through her closet. There had to be something nice she could wear that wouldn't attract undue attention. She wasn't actively scanning her surroundings. If she had, she would have known that Jamie, who heard of Elisabeth's distress and wanted to see if she was okay, had overheard every word that she and Pietro said.

***

            Pietro Maximoff, perfect in every way, had a perfect understanding of the time differences between Bayville and the Pit. As 6:30 Bayville time approached, he searched through his wardrobe for the best thing to wear. If there was one aspect of his life (that he could control) that wasn't perfect, it was his wardrobe- in this one respect, of course. He spent all of his allowance on clothes and items designed to enhance his natural beauty, but the problem his collection caused was that choosing an outfit was so damned difficult because of all the spectacular choices.

            "Hmm… no, too formal." Change. "Nah- too casual." Change. "Too loud." Change. "Ugh- this makes me look like a geek! What was I thinking when I- oh. Silly me." Change. "_This is the vest-and-tie that goes with it. Thank God- I thought I was turning into Summers. Hmm… but that's still not good enough…" He changed again. Finally, when he had been through his wardrobe ten times, he noticed that five whole minutes had passed since he started his search._

            "Oh no!" He might be late- that would be even worse than showing up in the wrong outfit at all. Pietro felt a panic attack coming on. He had so dazzled Elisabeth with his perfection that she begged him to take her to the movies, and he was obligated to do so, and do so with the absolute cutting edge of style.

            He sat down, and thought of everything he knew about her. "She's rich, and noble, and from England... how can these facts help me to pick the perfect outfit to flaunt my embarrassment of natural riches?"

            Then, the perfect idea came to him. Cover Girl! She used to be a fashion model!

            "Oh Cover Girl," he said two seconds later as he arrived at her door.

            "Yes, Pietro?" she asked him after she opened it.

            "I wonder if you could help me with one teeny-tiny favour?"

            "You're not going driving."

            "No," Pietro agreed. He had better things to do. "No, I've got a date, and-"

            "Whoa, hold on," Cover Girl stopped him. "You asked a girl on a date?" She asked, incredulously. 'And she said yes?' she mentally added.

            "No, she asked me on the date. Anyway, I need your help. I need you to help me pick an outfit to wear to the movies."

            "Okay," she said slowly. This girl asked him out? Poor girl must be desperate- Pietro's a nice kid, but hyperactive and as vain as (or vainer than) any of the supermodels she'd ever met.

            "Great!" Pietro smiled as he grabbed her arm and took her back to his room.

            "So," he said as he sat her down on his bed, "which one do you like best? This? Or this? Or this?"

            And on, and on.

            "Or this?" he finished.

            "Uh…" Cover Girl said, making a show of having to choose (actually, she barely had time to notice the difference between the outfits, but she didn't want to go through another high-speed fashion show again), "I think that… that one you're wearing right now is the best."

            Pietro checked himself out in his vanity mirror (bought courtesy of the Baroness' credit card, along with this outfit). It was a burgundy shirt with a cream vest and tie, and black leather pants.

            "Yeah, this is good," he agreed, "but don't you think it might be too nice for a movie theatre?"

            "Well, Pietro," Cover Girl began, thinking frantically because she knew he was actually right, "it's the most appropriate thing I can think of, considering I don't know who you're going out with." There- that was reasonable.

            "Oh! It's Elisabeth Braddock, you know, the new X-Gee- uh X-Man."

            "Well," Cover Girl said, relieved, "she's an English lady, isn't she? She's used to style."

            "Right!" Pietro smiled. "Well, thanks for your help, Cover Girl. I really appreciate it. And now, if you'll excuse me, there are a few other things I have to do to get ready!" He zipped off.

            Cover Girl laughed as she headed to the infirmary to tell Bree. If this girl was even half like how Bree described her, Pietro didn't know what he was getting himself into!

            Unbeknownst to either Cover Girl or Quicksilver, they were overheard.

            "Well, this is interesting," Brittany said as she got out from under Pietro's bed.

            "Very interesting," Quinn agreed.

            "Now we need to decide what to do," Daria added. "Blackmail, or torture the egomaniac?"

            "You girls are not… thinking outside the box," a voice came from beside them. Trinity yelped. Xi came back into view.

            "You are thinking of either/or, when it would be best to do both," he added as he left the room.

            "What are you doing here?" Quinn asked.

            "I suspected that Pietro took my Chips Ahoy," Xi shrugged, "but I can't find the box, so I must be mistaken."

            "Chips Ahoy? You mean the ones Freddy and Lance ate?" Daria asked. Xi's eyes widened.

            "They said that they did not… you are sure of this?"

Trinity nodded.

            "Yes," Xi said angrily. "Those Chips Ahoy. How would you like me to help you plan?"

            "Great!" the girls smiled, deciding not to tell Xi that they took the cookies and were hiding them under Pietro's bed.

            They returned to their room, where their computer was flashing.

            "You've got mail," it said. Sitting down, Brittany opened the e-mail. It was from Jamie.

            "So he knows, too?" Quinn asked. "We've got to be able to use this!"

            "I think we can," Xi said after a moment. He thought back to last night when Scott… accused him of eating all the (store-bought) chocolate chip cookies. "Yes, I'm certain we can! Write him an e-mail, and tell him this…"

***

            "Hey Elisabeth!" Jamie said as he knocked on her open door. "Whatcha doin'?"

            "I'm looking for an outfit for… going out this evening," she replied. She had long since decided _not_ to let the other students know what she was doing, or who she was doing it with. She didn't want to start yet another fight.

            "You mean for your date with Pietro?" Jamie asked innocently.

            "What?" That got her full attention. "How did you know about that?"

            "The walls have ears," he shrugged. "Nobody's too happy about this."

            "Well, since I barely know anybody yet, I hardly see how what I do is any of their business!"

            "Yeah, but that's not gonna stop some of the older guys from following you."

            "From what?"

            "From following you. Back when the Misfits were just the Brotherhood, and Lance and Kitty tried to date, they were followed around- by the X-Men, and by the Brotherhood. Scott- he just wouldn't leave them alone if he could help it!"

            "I see," she said darkly. Just when she (mostly) evened her account with Scott, something like this happens. Well, when she got through with him…

            "And the Misfits know, too," Jamie continued. "They're gonna follow you along too."

            "Why? And how do you know?"

            "They think you're gonna end up slapping Pietro around. And the triplets e-mailed me and told me about it."

            "Wonderful," Elisabeth groaned.

            "But we were chatting, and we decided that you and Pietro should do whatever you want."

            "Oh?"

            "Well- actually we just wanna watch the older guys act like idiots. We got a plan that'll let you have your date- but it's gonna cost ya." Jamie reached into his pocket, and handed Elisabeth a folded up list.

            "What?" she asked when she was done reading it. Some of the requests were normal- but most were bizarre.

            "If we don't stop them from ruining your time, you don't hafta pay up," Jamie said with a slight grin. The little bugger was quite the mercenary.

            "And Xi's in on it, too?"

            "That's why his name's on the sheet. Oh- and Pietro's paying up, too. If you want our help, all you have to do is follow the instructions."

            His mischievous grin reminded her of her brothers.

            "Alright," she said. "I'll bring the… er, payment… but you won't get it if you don't stop them from ruining our date."

            "Deal," Jamie grinned, and they shook on it.

            On the other side of the mansion, a Jamie-clone was spilling the news of the date to the X-Men…

***

            "Ah, there you are," Xi said as he approached Pietro. "I have something to discuss with you."

            "Make it fast, willya Xi? I got a date tonight," Pietro replied as he primped for the mirror.

            "Yes, I know. Psylocke is most attractive, isn't she?"

            "What?" He looked at Xi so fast he almost snapped his neck. "How do you know about that?"

            "We all know about it. The others plan to follow you around. They say they want to see you get your ass kicked."

            "Oh, do they? Well-"

            Xi grabbed Pietro's arm before he could go tell them off.

            "Actually, I feel that you should be able to do what you want, so long as it does not affect your performance as a member of the team. In fact, Trinity and I have devised a plan to allow you to date in peace. But it will cost you." He handed Pietro a list.

            "We will be working with Multiple, as the X-Men know about the date as well. Elisabeth has already agreed to pay up."

            "Then I'm gonna pay up, too," Pietro said firmly. He would usually just take care of this himself, but he wanted to see what four ninjas-in-training and the most devious X-Geek could come up with.

            In the living room, the triplets 'accidentally' let the news of the date slip…

***

            "Ah, Mr. McCoy," Elisabeth said as she approached him. She had finally settled on a black dress (one of the nicer things in her wardrobe- at least, one of the nicer things she brought with her), complete with a large black purse. She had a change of clothes tucked in her purse if it proved too fancy.

            "Yes, Elisabeth?" he asked.

            "I hear you're going into town in a few minutes."

            "Yes, I am. There's a poetry reading over at the Legal Grounds coffeehouse, and I am a regular. And an amateur author, not that that has any bearing on this discussion." Elisabeth couldn't help but smile at his slightly defensive tone, and the way he nervously held his briefcase.

            "Hmm… this coffeehouse, is it near the mall?"

            "I pass the mall on the way. Would you like a ride?"

            "Yes, thank you. You see, I tried to arrange a taxi, but once I said where I wanted to be picked up from, all of the people I spoke to on the phone hung up on me, or laughed at me, or cursed at me."

            "Well, in that case, I'd love to give you a ride- but won't it be lonesome going on your own?"

            "Well, I won't be alone."

            "Oh? You're meeting some of the students there?"

            "Well, I am meeting someone, yes, for a movie."

            "Who?"

            Elisabeth thought frantically for a moment. If she lied and was caught, it would not look good for her at all, and she had only just arrived.

            "Pietro Maximoff," she said, deciding to tell the truth.

            "Quicksilver?" Hank was surprised.

            "Yes. Is there something wrong?"

            "Uh, no. Not at all." A Misfit? As if one cross-team romance wasn't enough. He knew that after dating Courtney for a little while, he wasn't in a position to complain, but the adults of the teams were much saner than the adolescents- well, except for Shipwreck… "Uh, will you need a ride back?"

            "No, sir. I'm sure I'll be able to arrange something."

            "And you know your curfew?"

            "The headmaster said it was midnight."

"Very well, then. Shall we go?"

            "Whenever you're ready, sir," Elisabeth smiled.

            "Please, call me Mr. McCoy, or Beast. We're not that formal around here."

            Shortly after Hank's car left, it was followed by an SUV full of suspicious, tipped-off teenagers.

            "We really should be studying, Scott," Jean reminded him as she drove.

            "What's more important? Going over something you know by heart, or taking care of our own?"

            "Remy t'inks that's a funny attitude to have for someone dat kicked you in the jewels only last night."

            "That was, like, a total accident!" Kitty protested. "Besides, Scott had her buy him ice cream this afternoon. I drove them to the mall myself!"

            The others exchanged a look. The men nodded at each other. Buying a guy an ice cream to make up for… that… wasn't enough, but going driving with Kitty was a different story.

"But Elisabeth must have had, like, bad ice cream or something because she threw up while I was driving us back in Scott's car."

            Some of the others snickered.

            "So that's vhy your car smells. Your plan backfired, didn't it?"

            "Shut up, Kurt."

            "Well that'll teach you," Rogue snickered.

            "Don't start, Rogue."

            "Da, Rogue. He feels bad enough as it is."

            "Thank you Peter."

            "Even if he did get what he deserved."

            "Shut up, Peter!"

            "I'm with Peter on that one!" a voice piped up.

            "Why are we bringing him along?" Peter whispered into Kitty's ear.

            "Because Jamie is the one that tipped Scott off to the date, because he wanted a trip to the mall."

            Back at the Mansion, Xavier used Cerebro. He set it to alert him if Emma Frost's mutant signature was detected, and left instructions that he was only to be disturbed if necessary. He had a date to monitor- just in case.

***

            "Well, it's time to go!" Pietro announced happily. Hot date with sexy British noblewoman on the port bow!

            "Have fun," Cover Girl smiled. "Now, wear your communicator in case we need you. Oh, and treat her like a lady."

            "Don't I always?" Pietro asked before teleporting away.

            Several pairs of eyes were watching them.

            "But why do _we_ have to tag along, yo?" a voice whispered.

            "Because if those two hit it off, we'll be spending even more time over there, with them."

            "Oh. Right, Al."

            The remaining Misfits teleported to the movie theatre in the Bayville Galleria.

***

            Pietro, all dressed up and carrying a large paper bag, looked around. It was nearly 6:30, and unless he was going blind, there was no sign of Elisabeth.

            "Well, 'ello there, cutie," a Cockney voice said from behind him. The speaker was a tall young woman with purple hair, wearing a fabulous black dress that showed off every curve, and carrying a plastic shopping bag. For a split second, she reminded him of 'Risty.'

            "Lookin' for someone, dearie?" she said as she came up to him. She put a finger on his stomach, and traced it up along his chest. "Or are you here alone?"

            "I'm waiting for a date," Pietro smiled. "Sorry, sexy, but I'm the one woman type." 

Part of being perfect was the ability to lie like a dog.

            "Too bad," she pouted, and without warning, kissed him on the lips.

            "Hmm," she said in a very different British accent, "nice, firm lips you have Pietro. Why don't you kiss back, and give me a better idea?"

            "Elisabeth?" he asked, stunned.

            "Uh huh," she smiled. She put a hand through her hair, and the wig came off. She put it in her purse.

            "Forgive me," she grinned wickedly. "I do so love to play."

            Pietro began to laugh.

            "What's with the wig?"

            "Well, I bought it on a lark a while back. I wear about London when I'm out on the town."

            "You're famous?"

            "Hardly," she snorted. "I do, however, have two large, annoying fraternal units who think I can't handle myself in big cities at night. The wig serves as a decoy for when they try to spy on me. I wanted to try it out in my first time in Bayville, to see the reaction I'd get."

            "And?"

            "And I'm pleased to report that most of the men I've seen have checked me out, and several had made passes at me. But I'm busy." She studied him again. Damn, but he was sexy. She had worried she might be a little overdressed, until she saw him. Completely on impulse, she leaned in and kissed him again.

            It took all of Pietro's willpower not to grin as he kissed back. She wasn't like any of the women he'd ever known. They were mostly boring and dull. None of them would ever wear a wig on a first date, or use it to sneak a kiss. And what a kiss! He hadn't even been with Elisabeth for five minutes, and this date was already much better than most of the others he'd ever been on!

            "Well," she said when they were done, "shall we?" They went off towards the entrance to the movie theatre.

            On another impulse, Elisabeth went to take Pietro's hand, only to feel his bump hers half way between them. They looked at each other, blushing. Apparently, they'd had the same thought. Elisabeth stared at Pietro's blue eyes. 'Odd, but when he's embarrassed, he looks… he looks…' She didn't know how to describe it, but she liked it. Smiling gently, she took his hand. He smiled back, shyly (as shyly as he ever got, that is). They went back to the movie theatre.

***

            "Did you see that?" Scott hissed.

            "She kissed him," Peter marvelled. "I can't believe she kissed him! Twice!"  
  


            "It may not be Quickie that we have to worry about, _hommes_," Remy observed. "Psylocke- she seems more than able to handle herself, so why don't we get back to studying?"

            "Yeah- that sounds like a good idea," Rogue said.

            "Not so fast," Scott said. "If she's coming on to him, then we have to find a way to make her start coming off of him! No- wait- I didn't mean it like that!"

            "That sounded _so_ wrong," Kitty shuddered.

            "Yeah- some of us have virgin ears!" Kurt added.

            Jean was silent. Elisabeth had been broadcasting a bit during the kiss, which revealed two things- one, she needed work on her mental shields, and two, she really enjoyed the kiss. Jean questioned what she and her friends were doing. It wasn't their place to get involved in the life of somebody that was still mostly a stranger. It was their place to console her if the date was a disaster- a likely result, given that it was with Quicksilver- but otherwise… Jean backed off to where everybody could see her, so that when she started talking, everybody would listen. But before she got to that spot, she bumped into someone, and orange slurpee spilled all over her.

            "Hey!" she gasped. She turned around to see who it was. Oh, no!

***

            (Less than five minutes earlier)

            "Did you see that?" Wanda gasped. "She kissed him! She actually willingly kissed him! Twice!"

            "I saw it, but I don't believe it," Todd marvelled. Pietro was a nice enough guy under the exterior, but Bree's cousin just planted two on him when she didn't have the time needed to see through said exterior!

            "Hussy," Daria sniffed.

            "Perhaps she likes him," Xi said quietly. "It is possible that love can occur at first sight."

            "In the movies, Xi," Wanda groaned.

            "Oh, I dunno," Althea said, misty-eyed. "I remember the first time I saw my Toddles."

            "Here it comes," Quinn groaned.

            "Yeah," Todd sighed happily, staring off into space, "I was playin' with Little C, and she knocked me to the floor and demanded to know what I was doin' with him."

            They both gave off a happy sigh.

            "Oh, brother," Brittany rolled her eyes.

            For his part, Fred just backed off so that he could follow Pietro with his eyes. His friend actually looked shy for half a second there. Xi was right- love could happen at first sight. And if Pietro actually had a chance, he had the right to see it through. Psylocke may be an X-Geek, but she's Bree's little cousin, too, so how bad could she be? Things like teams or species didn't matter if there was true love involved. Why, just look at what his Canadian Uncle Red told him about Old Man Cedric's pet sow and Stinky Peterson's Billy-goat!

            As he was backing away, he bumped into something. Half of his slush spilled out of his hand.

            "Hey!" he gasped. He turned around to see who it was. Oh, no!

            Both teams were alerted to the gasps.

            "Nice look for you, Jean," Althea snickered.

            "Oh shut up!"

            "What are you doing here?!?" Lance and Scott simultaneously demanded. "Spying on them! Don't talk at the same time I do! Cut it out! No, you cut it out!"

            Standing behind the others, Jamie caught Xi's eye and made a worried gesture. They weren't supposed to meet yet!

            "Calm down," Xi mouthed. Looking around, his eyes caught a large group of people standing in line at the movie theatre. He recognized them immediately. He planned on doing to some random person later, but their teams had met already, and nobody deserved this quite like this fellow did. Going invisible, he spotted Fred's slush where Fred had left it as the arguing began. Picking it up, he crept over to the line up, and spilled the rest of the slush over his main target's head. He ran back to the greater group, and signalled for the Triplets and Jamie to get out of the line of fire.

            "So then I was like- hey!" Duncan Matthews yelped as he was covered in orange slush. His friends and their dates just stared. Duncan turned around, looking for the wise guy. He spotted the bickering mutants.

            "Excuse me, ladies," he snarled as he went over to them. His friends quickly followed. He went up to the bickering Shades and Rockhead, and quickly grabbed their heads and bashed them together. They crumpled to the ground.

            "Hey!" Althea shouted. "What was that for?"

            "For this!" Duncan bellowed, gesturing to himself.

            "Well, it's not our fault you're that ugly, yo," Todd smirked.

            "Why you-"

            "Blob!" Jean snapped.

            "It wasn't me!" Fred replied. "I put the rest of my slush down over- hey! Where did it go?"

            "It's yours, huh?" Duncan went over and belted Fred. It didn't faze him. "Uh oh."

            "Uh oh is right!" Fred yelled as he lifted Duncan off the ground. The rest of the jocks got involved and the fight was on.

            "Wow," Jamie blinked. "I didn't know our football players were so wimpy!"

            "I didn't know cheerleaders were so vicious!" Brittany said wonderingly as the cheerleaders got into catfights with the X-Girls, Althea, and Wanda.

            "Come on," Xi said quickly, leading the children to the designated meeting place. A few minutes later, the lovebirds arrived.

            "Well, Xi, when you're right, you're right," Pietro grumbled.

            "I still can't believe they'd spy on us!" Elisabeth gasped.

            "Oh, believe it," Jamie told her.

            "Well, thank you for telling us."

            "A-hem," Daria coughed politely.

            "Oh, right, your 'thank-you' for the warning. Here you are, Xi," Elisabeth said, passing him the shopping bag. It was full of boxes of Chips Ahoy, Chunks Ahoy, and Rainbow Chips Ahoy. Reaching into her purse, she handed Jamie two extra large packages of Pixie Sticks.

            Pietro handed Xi tickets to various arcades (each of which had several Whack-A-Moles), gave Jamie more packages of Pixie Sticks, and passed the girls the paper bag. In it, in plastic Ziploc bags, was men's underwear. All the bags were labelled.

            "Scott, Remy, Peter, Ray, Bobby, Sam, Roberto, Jamie, Lance, Pietro, Todd, Fred… why are all the X-Men at the top?" Quinn asked.

            "Because we put them in the same bag as soon as we could, and I put the ones I got on top of the others," Elisabeth told her. "What do you want them for, anyway?"  
  


            "You don't wanna know," Pietro told her.

            "Why did you want my underwear?" Jamie asked. The girls grinned wickedly.

            "It's a secret," they said in unison.

            Xi looked back at where the fight was. Mall security was escorting the brawling teenagers out of the mall.

            "It is time to rejoin the group," he told his co-conspirators. They went off back to their friends, after quickly dropping their score back at home (Jamie stuffed the Pixie Sticks in his jacket pockets).

            "I thought you said we'd get to torture the egomaniac," Brittany pointed out.

            "You are correct," Xi admitted, "but we did get to torture the others, support the development of new love, and get paid to do it. Surely that counts for something."

            "Well," Pietro said, bowing to Elisabeth, "the club awaits us. Your chariot, madam," he said as he scooped her up.

            "Thank you, kind sir," she giggled. She looked into those beautiful blue eyes again. She still didn't know what it was about them that she liked so. With a zip, they were gone.

**What? I don't like to ruin dates between couples I like, and it should be obvious who one of the couples I like is! Yes, I like happy endings, especially considering what is to come. Next time, the date continues, so stay tuned to "The Mutant Massacre":**

**Chapter Five: Getting To Know You**

**P.S.- The Legal Grounds is a real place in my hometown, and it does have poetry readings called "The Poets Potpourri." 'Uncle' Red, Old Man Cedric and Stinky Peterson are characters in "The Red Green Show," owned by Red Green. Old Man Cedric and Stinky Peterson are mentioned, but never actually seen- much like their 'appearances' in this fic.**


	6. Getting to Know You!

**Chapter Five: Getting To Know You**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

**L1701E- Trinity and Jamie are good at double-dealing? Oh, yeah. They'd do well on Wall Street? Well, yeah, but what would they do the day after they took control of everything- otherwise known as their second day. I hope to get some more of the four of them plotting if I can.**

            The music could be heard outside the club as Pietro came to a halt. It was packed, as always.

            "Seems like a fun place," Elisabeth observed.

            "Ah, it's okay," Pietro said, "considering it's a second choice. It's more fun than sitting through most movies, anyway."

            "Yeah, you're probably right."

            Finally, after waiting through the line-up, it was time for them to get in.

            "Not bad," Elisabeth said approvingly. "For a place like Bayville, it's not bad at all."

            "I knew you'd like it," Pietro grinned.

            They danced for a while, and finally found an empty table.

            "Something to drink?" Pietro asked.

            "A Coke or a Pepsi would be great, thanks." Pietro zipped off. Within two minutes, he was back, with two Pepsis.

            "To uninterrupted dates," Pietro toasted. Elisabeth toasted back.

            "You know, I'm the one that asked you out on the date. It's not fair that you pay for anything."

            "You bought Xi all those cookies," Pietro reminded her. "The stiff I had to get wasn't that expensive. It's only fair I pay for something."

            "I guess," she said, slowly.

            "So," Pietro said, quickly appearing beside her, "why don't you tell me a bit about yourself."

            "What would you like to know?"

            "Whatever you wanna tell me."

            "Okay. Let's see… my father is Sir James Braddock, and my mother is Lady Elisabeth Braddock. I have two older brothers- my oldest brother is Jamie, and he's nineteen. My other brother, who is only older than me by a few minutes, is Brian."

            "So he's your twin, huh? Wanda's my twin, too. She's only three minutes older than me."

            "Well, it's a small world, isn't it? Let's see- what else… you already know my cousin and cousin-in-law."

            "Bree and Lifeline? Yeah," Pietro smiled. "They're great! They're kinda unofficial Misfits too, like the rest of our adults. I heard that they were gonna stay with us, but they were too important to the rest of the Joes to be with us all the time."

            "Well, I'm sure they would have loved to be with you. Brittany loves children- and the rest of us keep badgering Edwin to get her pregnant, so we can have children to dandle on our knees and spoil rotten."

            Pietro snickered.

            "What? That's what we do! And of course, his face goes bright red whenever we do, and one then one of my brothers or me makes a comment about where his blood should be flowing, and that only causes him to blush more, and usually stammer something about mixed company. I swear you Americans are so repressed!"

            Pietro burst out laughing.

            "This coming from a Brit!" he finally managed to get out. Elisabeth looked offended.

            "What? You think we're all uptight tightarses? Look at our history! Our greatest poets were almost uniformly sex-crazed! Haven't you ever read The Canterbury Tales? Or much of Shakespeare's work? We're so sex-conscious that, all the way back in Victorian times, we even made trousers to cover table legs, to prevent us from having ideas- not that it worked! Speaking of Queen Victoria- are you aware of how many children she had? Do you know how much sexual effort that requires? My God, man- we gave the world Benny Hill! What further proof do you need that we're a nation of the perpetually horny? Just because we traditionally didn't advertise the fact doesn't mean we're monks!"

            Pietro was a little stunned. "There goes my pre-conceptions about British noblewomen," he sighed.

            "Oh don't be too upset. Most of them are quite thrilled to seem to publicly live up to said pre-conception. I just happen to be honest, is all."

            Pietro looked at her for a moment. When she was going on and on just now, she looked passionate- and so damn hot.

            "Y'know," he said after a moment, "last night I overheard you talking to Al about Lifeline. Was it true?"

            "That I saw him naked? Yeah."

            "Oh my God," Pietro breathed. "How?"

            "Well, it was quite innocent, really. Of course, he didn't look at it that way. It happened last summer. He and Bree somehow managed to get some leave time together, and as Edwin had never been to England- while not on business- that's where they went. They stayed with us, of course. On the grounds, there's this lovely pond that my family has traditionally used for swimming."

            "Go on."

            "Well, the weather during their visit was wonderfully hot, and one afternoon before dinner, I decided to go take a cooling dip. When I got there, there they were, splashing around."

            "Bree and Lifeline?"

            "Yes. They were skinny-dipping. Well, Edwin decided to take a little break, and got out of the pool, just as I went down for a swim. It's not a big deal, in my family- the naked body, I mean. If I saw any indication it was more than just a dip I would have left them in privacy, but there was no such hint, so I went down for a swim. And Edwin saw me."

            "You weren't-"

            "No, I had a bathing suit on. But when Edwin saw me, well… he blushed, and then he did the gentlemanly thing."

            "He looked away?"

            "In a manner of speaking. He closed his eyes- as he fainted."

            Pietro burst out laughing.

            "And, I did the ladylike thing," Elisabeth smirked. "I checked him out- I mean, I checked him over to see if he was okay."

            Pietro laughed harder.

            "Of course, Bree got out of the water when she realised what happened, and when we found that Edwin was okay we had a laugh out of it. When he finally came around, I made a little comment to Bree about sharing- and poor, dear Edwin fainted again. He's never quite been able to look me in the eye since."

            Pietro laughed so hard he started to cry. He could actually see Lifeline doing that! Elisabeth started laughing too, and they sat there for a few minutes, laughing.

            "Oh, that is _priceless_," Pietro said when he could finally form coherent words.

            "I know," Elisabeth chuckled. "Well, I've told you a bit about me. What can you tell me about you?"

            "Oh, where to begin? There's so much to choose from. You met my sister Wanda- she's incredibly powerful, and completely insane- just like the rest of the Misfits, except me of course. You have no idea how difficult it is to be the only sane person in a house full of loonies!"

            "Tell me that again if you ever meet my family. Go on, please."

            "Well, I've been a Misfit for a while now- we train a lot, and we get an okay education- considering we don't have a real teacher."

            "And that's it?"

            "Well, we fight terrorists," Pietro said, a trace uncomfortably. This was hitting a little too close to home- Cobra was one thing to talk about, but the Acolytes…

            "You mean- you don't get out much?"

            "Like we are right now? Not as such, no."

            "Well that's terrible."

            "It's not so bad- we do more than just train. Wanda's got her dancing lessons, Fred's starting to enter in cooking competitions, Lance moons over the kitty cat, I don't even want to know about Toad and Al, Xi doesn't have much of a life, and the Triplets drive us all nuts. We have our movie nights, and we go into town now and then."

            "What does your family think about all of this?"

            The dreaded question.

            "I take it Baldy hasn't told you about us, has he?"

            Elisabeth looked at him.

            "Apparently not," she frowned. Pietro gave her a brief explanation of the old Brotherhood and how they came to be the Misfits.

            "Your own father!" Elisabeth gasped. She could hardly believe her ears.

            "Yeah," he sighed. He didn't want to be the one to tell her all this, but better she get the real truth from him than some biased half-truth from one of the X-Geeks.

            "You poor dear," she whispered, taking his hand.

            "I really don't wanna talk about this anymore," he said, uncomfortably.

            "Then we won't," Elisabeth said firmly. "I just… well, for what its worth- you made the right choice leaving your father, even though you still love him."

            They were silent for a few moments.

            "So- do you wanna dance again?" Pietro finally asked.

            "Love to," Elisabeth smiled.

***

            **Meanwhile, Back At the Ponderosa (Er… the Bayville Galleria) (Sorry- I had to do that once)**

            "I can't believe we lost them!" Lance and Scott fumed in synch. "Stop that you jerk! No, you stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

            "Both of you stop it!" Althea snapped. "Arguing isn't gonna get us anywhere!"

            The two teams silently fumed. They hated being thwarted.

            "So just who did dump that slushie on Duncan anyway?" Jean asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

            "Not me!" Fred said loudly. "I didn't even have a sip of it…"

            "And it wasn't me! Although I wish it was," Jean added.

            "Well somebody did it!" Wanda proclaimed. "Not that I mind, but it caused us to lose track of my brother, who is inflicting God knows what horrors on Psylocke!"

            "Some sister you are," Remy remarked.

            "Do I love my brother? Yeah- _but don't any of you dare tell him that_!" The ground shook. "But do I know my brother? Yeah! He's probably going on and on about how perfect he is and how lucky she is to be dating him! We all know what she can to do somebody as an accident- who knows what she can do when she _really_ wants to hurt somebody?"

            "You mean you're vorried about Pietro?" Kurt asked.

            "No. Wanda is more worried that she will miss the show." All eyes turned to Xi. "Somebody had to say it," he shrugged, "and Pietro is not here."

            "Well, if you want, I can, like, phase back into the movie theatre and see if I can find them," Kitty offered.

            "Do it," Althea said. "Five bucks says she's already dumped her drink on him."

            "Ten says she's publicly kicking his ass," Rogue added.

            "Fifteen says she has nailed him in the testicles," Xi put in. All the men shuddered.

            "Can't I be allowed to forget that?" Scott moaned.

            "You wouldn't say that so easily if you knew how much it hurts, yo," Todd told his friend.

            Within minutes, Kitty had returned.

            "They're, like, not watching any of the movies," Kitty said when she returned.

            "You're sure?" Scott asked.

            "Where could they have gone?" Peter demanded. "Could they have seen us and gone somewhere else?"

            "That fight was pretty public," Jean said. "Or maybe…"

            "What, Jean?" Scott asked.

            "Maybe they saw us, and Pietro-"

            "Got my slurpee and spilled it all over Duncan, and left us to take the blame!" Fred realized.

            "That's exactly the sort of underhanded thing Pietro would do," Wanda agreed.

            "Dat little white ferret!" Remy said, almost admiringly.

            "Don't you mean rat?"

            "No, not after Remy read 'Harry Potter and De Goblet of Fire.' You brother, he's a lot like Draco Malfoy, no?"

            "Conceited, nasty, vengeful," Fred mused. "Yeah- yeah! He is, isn't he?"

            "Well, with that watch, they could be anywhere by now!" Scott moaned. "I'd like to turn Quicksilver into a ferret and make him bounce! We've just gotten kicked out of the mall for nothing!"  
  


            "Welcome to our world," Lance groaned.

***

            **A few hours later…**

            "Well, thanks for asking me out!" Pietro said as he brought Elisabeth back.

            "Thanks for saying yes," Elisabeth smiled. "Well."

            "Well."

            "They're watching us, you know," Elisabeth said.

            "Why don't we give them something to watch, then?"

            They kissed again. Elisabeth lowered a hand and pinched Pietro's bum. The mental screams she heard from inside the mansion were _very_ satisfying.

            "Even firmer than it looks," she purred.

            Pietro grinned.

            "Oh, yeah. Good night, Elisabeth."

            "Good night, Pietro."

            He teleported away. Elisabeth entered the mansion. She looked at all the shocked faces staring at her. The X-Men and the New Mutants were all assembled. Not all were shocked- Jamie (her little multiplying guardian angel) was grinning, and (surprisingly) Tabitha was grinning and giving her the 'thumbs up.'

            "Well," she said matter-of-factly, "we do have a Danger Room session tomorrow, so we'd best be turning in." She went straight upstairs, purposely not looking back. At the top of the stairs, the headmaster and all three teachers were waiting for her.

            "Nothing happened," she said quickly. "I just thought that if they were going to watch, they may as well have something to see."

            "I see," Professor Xavier said, eyebrows raised. He didn't want to let her know that he had been watching.

***

            Next morning, after the Danger Room session was over, the X-Men returned to the upper levels to find that the mansion had been redecorated.

            "Looks like the Misfits have struck again," Logan groaned.

            Elisabeth surveyed the damage as she went back to her room. Maybe the complaints that she had heard about the Misfits actually had some merit after all.

            In her room, on her bed, lay a dozen freshly cut roses. A note was attached to them.

            "Last night was wonderful. Can I see you again? –Pietro 'Quicksilver' Maximoff," it read.

Elisabeth couldn't help but smile. Definitely.

**Well, that's how the date goes down. What do you think? Too fluffy? Not fluffy enough (although I don't think that's a problem)? R&R, please. Next up- we finally get back to the plot, as a certain bestial sociopath asks for a vacation, and we find out a bit more about two estranged old friends. Stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Six: Confrontations**


	7. Confrontations!

**Chapter Six: Confrontations**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

            Six Days Ago:

"Boss, I really need a vacation," Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, said to his mirror. Maybe, if he worked hard enough at it, he could convince the mirror that he needed that vacation.

            "Really?" came a voice from behind him. Great- the ass-kisser was here.

            "After failing to convince your mutant friend to join our cause, I really, truly doubt you need a vacation," Cortez went on. Sabretooth turned to look at him.

            "You ain't the one I was askin.' And you're not the one that decides. Get outta my way!" he shoved Cortez aside and went off to find Magneto.

            Behind him Cortez's face twisted in fury, then turned neutral. Oh, how he longed for the time when he could shed his disguise and show these pathetic fools what he was really capable of… but there were still other Players to be found before the Game could be the interesting contest it was capable of being. But when there were enough, Cortez vowed, that illiterate animal would be first to fall, and it would take him days to die!

***

            Sabretooth strode towards his boss' quarters. All around him, mutants were laughing and talking, bickering and fighting, and none dares approach him. It depressed him that so many of them were kids. Something like 85% of the world's known mutants were 18 or younger, and of the ones that had wound up here, there were fanatics and outcasts. No hunters, no true warriors. And the older ones, the members of Magneto's 'elite,' let's see… Cortez was a bootlicker, Pyro was still a kid (and a nutty one at that), Mastermind was a worm, Winter or Winters or whatever it was wasn't a fighter, and Voght- Magneto could say whatever he wanted but Sabretooth would never trust anyone who used to screw Baldy. That left only four real warriors of the bunch- and even on their best day, Ramrod and Ramfist were more enthusiastic than skilled.

            When he got to the door, he knocked. Winters opened it. The door closed, and after a moment, opened again. Sabretooth went in. There, in his full regalia, was Magneto.

            "Sabretooth," Magneto acknowledged. "I have been informed of the results of your mission. I am… disappointed."

            Good. Disappointed was good. Displeased, now…

            "I told you when I left that it might take me a while to convince him," Sabretooth reminded his boss. "I got him thinkin' about it, and I found something else out."

            "Oh? And what is that?"

            "He an' a few friends are goin' hunting in a couple days. All his friends are mutants, too."

            "Ah. And you think that, if you go along, you can talk to them as well."

            "Yeah."

            From under the helmet, he could see Magneto smile. It wasn't a nice smile.

            "Perhaps I should send someone more persuasive."

            "No," Sabretooth said quickly. "These people won't listen to just anyone. I've got street cred. The only other person we've got that they'll listen to is you, and if these guys decide they don't like you…"

            Magneto began to laugh.

            "Concern? For me? How touching." Magneto stepped closer. "But what I really think you're saying is that you want a vacation." Magneto raised a hand. Sabretooth's world exploded in pain.

            "In terms you might understand," Magneto explained, "I'm using your blood to stimulate various nerve centres."

            "If there is one thing my German friends taught me, it's that pain focuses a person," Magneto went on. "You have failed me, Victor, and you presume to ask for a hunting vacation? Hopefully this shall teach you the error of your ways, and focus you upon your tasks."

            After a few minutes, Sabretooth's eyes rolled up in the back of his head, and he crumpled to the floor.

            "Get Mastermind," Magneto told his butler. "See that Sabretooth remembers that I gave him permission, but that he is only to return if he brings new converts with him. I have business to attend to." Magneto went off.

            "Yes sir," Winter said softly as he went about his tasks. He knew what business his master had to attend to on this day. As much as Erik Lehnsher claimed to hate all humans, that wasn't the case. Not completely, anyway.

***

            "That is something," Xavier said as Logan related the events of the previous evening.

            "Yeah, but unless Frost is a lot older than she looks, there's no way the ninja could be her son."

            "I did notice that, yes," Xavier nodded. "And if that is the case, then the members of the Inner Circle may be more unified than Sir Braddock knows."

            "Huh. What about the search on this end?"

            "Nothing," Xavier sighed. "It seems that she's somehow able to mask her powers, or else go without using them, and the Joes haven't been able to find her either. None of us are done searching yet, though."

            "Back to square one?"

            "So it would appear."

            They were silent for a moment. They couldn't prove any of this, but given all the evidence, their best guess was the only possible explanation that tied all the different factors together, unless one accounted for coincidence. Neither Charles Xavier nor Logan put much store in coincidence.

            "So, when are you going?" Logan asked suddenly.

            "I'm not sure it would be appropriate, given the circumstances."

            "Charles, Ororo, Hank an' I can watch the kids, and we can call you if there's any trouble. You have to do this."

            Xavier nodded.

            "Thank you," he said quietly, and Logan nodded.

***

            "Is there something wrong, Professor?" Scott asked when all the students were called together.

            "No, Scott. I merely have to take a trip. Ororo, Hank, and Logan will be in charge until I return."

            "That vas strange," Kurt said, after. "He usually lets us know vhere he is going."

            Scott and Jean looked at each other.

            "Vhat?"

            "Well, we've noticed that the Professor always goes somewhere today, every year," Jean explained.

            "He never says where, or why," Scott added. "Nobody knows anything about where he goes."

            Jean frowned behind Scott's back. He may not have known anything, but she knew a bit. Only a bit, and she had learned by accident. She didn't like telling stories when she knew she didn't have all the facts, and what she did know of this story… she shuddered.

***

            "I'll be right there, Jason!" Gabrielle Haller called to her son.

            "Okay, mama!" Jason called back. Standing up from where she was working on her garden, Gabrielle looked at her son, sitting doing a puzzle. Jason was handsome, like his father, with dark hair and piercing dark eyes. He was tall and lean, and towered over her. But then, he had turned twenty today.

            She smiled. Jason was talking and active more often than not, now. If only he could start to mentally age. Gabrielle fought off the tears. Her son had been like this for five years, she should be used to this by now. It was always hardest on his birthday, and for many reasons.

            "How's my birthday boy today?" she asked brightly as she came back in the house.

            "Great, mama!" Jason said brightly. He pointed to the puzzle. "I'm almost done- see mommy?"

            "That's great, Jason." It was a puzzle of a teddy bear. Jason had been working on it for ten minutes.

            The doorbell rang.

            "Somebody's here, mama!" Jason exclaimed.

            "I know son. Stay here- I'm going to get it."

            Opening the front door, Gabrielle looked down at Charles Xavier, holding a birthday present.

            "Hello, Charles," she said quietly.

            "Hello, Gabrielle. You look well."

            "So do you. He's this way." Gabrielle led him to Jason.

            "Hi Professor X," Jason said cheerily, looking up from his puzzle.

            "Hello, Jason," Charles forced himself to smile. "My, you're looking big."

            "That's 'cause it's my birthday today. Mama says I'm twenty."

            "And twenty you are, and here's something for the twenty year old," he handed Jason the box.

            "What do you say, Jason?" Gabrielle asked her son as he opened the gift.

            "Thank you, Professor X," Jason said, as he finished opening his new gift- a train set. "Oh, wow! A train set! Thank you Professor X!"

            "You're quite welcome, Jason," Xavier smiled.

            "Now, why don't you go set up your new train set while Professor Xavier and I talk?" Gabrielle asked.

            "Okay!" Jason ran off too his room.

            "You didn't have to send him away, you know," Charles said as he wheeled himself to the living room table. Gabrielle sat on the sofa opposite him. "I like spending time with him."

            "Which is why you're here so often," Gabrielle muttered sarcastically. "No, that wasn't fair. I'm sorry. I've just been so on edge, lately, ever since the- well, whatever I'm feeling, I'm sure you and your students feel worse."

            "You're afraid."

            "Of waking up in the middle of the night to find government agents or large robots here for Jason? Yes, I'm afraid."

            "You know there's a place for you both at my Institute."

            "I know, and thank you, but our place is here. There may be safety in numbers, but there's also a target painted on your back."

            "Not the first time I've heard that argument."

            "So I've been told- you're not still angry with Moira, are you?"

            "No, not really. I can understand her decision to withdraw Rahne, but I don't like it."

            "She's thinking like a parent. She wants her daughter where she feels she can protect her."

            They both glanced at the mirror which hung on the wall behind Gabrielle. Someone who was unaware of its history might think that it was some sort of piece of art, a mirror which had been shattered and then re-hung with each piece almost put back together. That's what someone unaware of its history might think.

            "Yes, I know."

***

            Jason sat on the floor of his room, looking at his new train set. He was good at putting things together, and he had a nice new ins-, inst-… he had a nice new booklet that told him what went where. His train tracks were soon altogether, and Jason looked forward to being able to put the train on the tracks and making it go. He just wished he had friends he could play trains with, but mama said that there wasn't anybody his age around. 

He put the train on the tracks, and moved it back and forth, making 'choo-choo' noises. Suddenly, the train went out of his hand and started moving around the track all by itself!

            Jason's eyes went wide. "You can move by yourself!" he told the train.

            "Not quite," he heard a voice chuckle. Jason looked up. In the window, he could see Mr. Erik, his godfather, looking in.

            "Hi Mr. Erik!" Jason said joyfully. "I thought you weren't gonna come!"

            "And my godson's twentieth birthday? Not a chance." Jason stood up, opened the window, and Mr. Erik helped him outside. "And how are you today, my boy?"

            "Great, Mr. Erik," Jason smiled. "Professor X got me a nice new train set an' everything! He's inside talking to mama. Do you wanna talk to them." Interpreting the opening of Mr. Erik's mouth as a yes, Jason yelled out "Mama! Professor X! Mr. Erik's here!"

            'Well, _this is going to be awkward…" Erik thought to himself._

***

            "Mama! Professor X! Mr. Erik's here!"

            Both Gabrielle and Charles put their coffees down when they heard Jason's happy voice.

            "You don't think…"

            "He's never missed one of Jason's birthdays before," Gabrielle mused.

            "Which is much more than he can for his own children, lately," Charles muttered.

            Entering the yard, they quickly found Jason and Magneto.

            "Hello, Gabrielle, Charles," Magneto said conversationally, like there was nothing wrong. "I was just making Jason's new train move."

            "I see," Gabrielle said, 'happily,' as she went over to Jason. "Son, why don't you go play with your train set, and later, we can all have some of your cake."

            "Okay," Jason said, and went back inside the house.

            The three were silent for a long time. It was like old times in so many ways, with Erik paying Charles and Gabrielle a visit, but so much had changed since even Jason's last birthday.

            "Gabrielle," Erik said quietly, "despite what you may or may have been told about me, it is good to see you."

            "It is… good to see you, too," she said quietly. This man was once one of her greatest friends. Even now, it was almost impossible for her to reconcile Erik Lehnsher with Magneto. Especially dressed like this- thick grey overcoat and no hat, despite the fact that it was unseasonably hot and there was a risk of heat stroke. Classic Erik. Magda used to tease him so…

            "Charles," Erik said, neutrally. That was a sign of change. Once, the address would have been warm, and either preceding or shortly following a back-slapping hug.

            "Erik," was the simple reply.

            There was more silence as the two looked at each other. Finally, they nodded. They could put aside their differences for Jason's sake, and for Gabrielle.

***

            "Why have you come here, Erik?" Gabrielle asked as he helped her with the dishes.

            "To see my godson, and to see you," he said simply.

            "That's all?"

            "I don't steal children."

            "That's not what I've heard."

            "That was different."

            "Really? How?"

            "The child was being raised on a military base," Erik said matter-of-factly, as if that answered everything.

            "By humans," Gabrielle said evenly.

            "By soldiers, Gabrielle, and we both know what you think of soldiers. I tried to take that child to prevent him from being used for their ends."

            "As opposed to your ends?"

            "So long as you live, I will never take Jason." There. He said it. Gabrielle felt a little better. Even Charles admitted that just enough of Erik Lehnsher remained to make Magneto keep his word.

            "That's not what I asked."

            Silence.

            "I do what I must for my people. You should understand that."

            "By experimenting on them?"

            "By bringing their powers to their fullest so that when the time comes, they will be able to defend themselves and those mutants that are weaker."

            "And making them obey you unconditionally?"

            "I am fighting a war, Gabrielle, and 85% of my soldiers are children. I need obedience that doesn't come naturally to children."

            "You mean you need to steal their free will."

            "What do you want from me?" he demanded, turning to face her. "Remorse? Repentance? For me to fall upon my knees and confess that I am a monster? Well, perhaps I am. Yes- say that I am. Say that I am a monster. But if by becoming a monster I can ensure the survival of my people, then I accept that fate!"

            "Erik-"

            "Wake up, Gabrielle! You are living in a war zone! The entire world is at war, now. It's only recently that the first open shots have been fired. It's being going on for a long time, now, you know that. You should know it better than anyone! Everything I've done, I've done for the survival of my people. You think I haven't regretted any of it? You think I haven't regretted the need for my actions?"

            "And is this war one of mutants against humans?"

            "It is a war of those who support us against those who would destroy us."

            "Then why have you been preaching fear and hate of all humanity?"

            "Because of all humans, I can only count on one hand the number of humans I can be sure that would help us! I can't take the chance of letting others in! I can't, not when there are giant robots that can scan us and try to kill us, and who knows what else there is out there that desires our extinction- or worse, enslavement?"

            Gabrielle was silent for a moment. Erik hadn't lost his ability to be forceful without yelling or shouting.

            "And what of the cost, Erik?"

            "I have paid, Gabrielle. I lost my family when I was a child, and again when I was an adult. Magda and Anya are dead, Pietro and Wanda have turned against me, and so have all of our old friends. I have nothing but my people."

            "And whose fault is that? You've pushed both of your children, and all of our friends, away. I can almost understand what you did to Wanda. Back, when Jason was…" Gabrielle swallowed. "I can understand why you had to put Wanda away, but why did you just abandon her? Why didn't you _ever_ see her? Why did you leave instructions that _I couldn't see her? Why didn't you let me see Pietro? You asked me to be their nurse after Magda died, and I did my job. I loved those children, Erik."_

            "I felt you had enough difficulties with Jason, especially before…" his voice dropped off. Gabrielle knew what he was getting at.

            "Yeah, well, I didn't have that problem for very long," she muttered as she returned to her work.

            "No, I suppose you didn't." They both looked over at Jason, remembering what he was like before.

***

            Later that evening, after Charles and Erik had left, Gabrielle watched Jason sleep.

            Before he left, Charles renewed his offer to let Gabrielle and Jason live in the Institute. For the first time, Gabrielle was beginning to reconsider her answer. Jason now had the mind of a child, and had indicated a number of times how lonely he was. He certainly couldn't have friends his biological age, and even though his attacks of catatonia were now very rare, it was equally impossible for her son to have friends his mental age.

            The people at the Institute would be nice to him- they'd be his friends (or at least make the effort). Her son wouldn't be lonely anymore. Jason had always hated being alone… Gabrielle shivered. Jason had been alone for five years, except for her. He hadn't shown any signs of his old power ever since that day five years ago (five years ago to the very day), nor had he displayed any of the… side-effects. Maybe, it was time to let him around people. Maybe, this time, he could have friends. And he had more right to live in that mansion than any of the students, or the teachers for that matter. Yes, maybe she'd give Charles a call in a few days, to arrange for a trial stay. And if it worked out, then who knows? Maybe her son would stop being lonely.

            And maybe, a dark and secret voice whispered to her, maybe she'd finally be able to have a life. Gabrielle ignored that voice. That wasn't why she wanted Jason to go to the Institute…

            …was it?

**Yeah, most of that was plot. Except for the part with Sabretooth- which I have already been hinting at- it may not seem like it, but a lot of what you've just read will be explained later on (and its relevancy will be revealed). In the meantime, Sabretooth joins up with his fellow hunters, and love is back in the air, so stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Seven: The Calm**


	8. The Calm

**Chapter Seven: The Calm**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

            Six Days Ago:

The unintelligible mutterings were the first thing Sabretooth heard. He opened his eyes. Looking down at him was Grey Crow. Sabretooth blinked as he tried to remember what happened. Oh yeah- after Magneto said he could go if he could bring back some new soldiers. He returned to the designated spot at the designated time. Grey Crow was there. When he said that Magneto said yes, Grey Crow apologized, and then gassed him. It must've been strong stuff, to knock him out.

            "Welcome to the base," Grey Crow said simply.

            "You better-"

            "Have a good reason for knocking you out? Come on, Victor. I can't take chances with the location of our HQ." He extended a hand, and helped Sabretooth stand up.

            Sabretooth took a look around. The room was dark, and there was only one person besides Grey Crow in it- an Asian man who looked at Sabretooth with something very like a sneer. Sabretooth gave the man something very like a murderous grin, and began to plot an 'accident.'

            "This is Scrambler," Grey Crow told Sabretooth. "He's one of our most valuable members."

            The three left the room and began to walk down a metal hallway. They soon came to a room. In the room, was a table. Seated at the table were a number of people, some clearly mutants.

            "So this is Sabretooth," a large, mighty woman said as she stood up. "Scalp said that you're quite the hunter.

            "Yeah, I am," Sabretooth grunted.

            "Really?" a man asked. He was medium sized, at best, with long hair.

            "Wanna find out for yourself?" Sabretooth grinned wickedly. He was grateful to Grey Crow for the opportunity to hunt, but so far it was more trouble than it was worth.

            "That's quite enough," another voice said from the table. A kid with long green hair stood up and looked Sabretooth square in the eye.

            "You've been invited to be here because Scalphunter said you're the best hunter he's ever seen," the girl continued, "and coming from him, that says something. He's the field leader of this little operation, and I am the liaison with our boss- and no, you won't be meeting him yet. You've already met Scrambler, Arclight," the woman nodded, "and Riptide." The man sneered. "The others are Vertigo," the third woman, a tiny blond thing, nodded, "Harpoon," a short, muscled Inuit nodded gravely, "Prism," the crystal-man, obviously, "and Blockbuster," who was one big mother. "I am called Polaris."

            "Now that you've met our happy little group," Grey Crow said sarcastically, "here are the rules: I'm in charge. You do what I say, or you're out… permanently."

            "Fine," Sabretooth nodded. This was as it should be.

            "And you don't go for the maim, only for the kill."

            "No argument here," Sabretooth grinned. That was why he was here.

            "Good. Welcome to the Marauders."

***

            Five Days Ago:

            "So, you're an orphan?" Elisabeth asked as she played chess with Scott. "I'm sorry."

            "It's okay," Scott shrugged. "I've found my brother, and I've got an uncle living in Spain, and cousins in Sunnydale- that's a small town in California."

            "Why didn't your family take you in?"  
  


            "Nobody knows. I do know they tried to take me in, but the judge wouldn't let them. Like I said, I don't know why. Checkmate."

            "Damn! Good match."

            "You too."

            "Do they know about you? That you're a mutant, I mean?"

            "Not yet. News about our identities hasn't spread that fast, and I don't think they know I go here. I keep meaning to tell them, but I always chicken out. Old habits are hard to break out of, I guess. I will one of these days, though."

            "You should. It feels good to let things out."

            "Yeah, I guess."

            "Hey, Elisabeth," Kitty said as she phased through the wall, "these came for you." She handed Elisabeth a bouquet of flowers. Elisabeth took them, sniffed them, and sighed. Scott made a disgusted noise.

            "Again?" he asked.

            "I'm really going to have to ask him to stop," Elisabeth smiled. "We're running out of vases."

            "I, like, think it's totally sweet that he gives you flowers every day," Kitty smiled.

            Scott rolled his eyes- not that anyone could see, under his glasses.

            'What kind of a guy gives a girl a bouquet of flowers every day, even though they've only had one date?' he thought.

            'The smart ones,' a familiar (and ticked off) voice replied. Time to get more flowers for Jean, before she started comparing him to Quicksilver (and if the other guys with girlfriends were smart, they'd do the same).

***

            Rogue looked at Remy.

            "So, what's the surprise?" she finally asked.

            "Remy's so glad you asked, _chere_," he smiled. "See, it hasn't been so easy, us dating. We have to be careful, and not do t'ings dat other couples do… like kiss."

            "So?" Rogue felt a little nervous. This wasn't a… no, of course it wasn't. He wouldn't break up with her like this.

            "So, Gambit has a gift," he said, as he opened his dresser, and pulled out a small box. He opened it, and showed Rogue the contents.

            "Oh, Remy," she breathed. It was a silk scarf. It was beautiful. But… "What's it got to do with us not bein' able ta touch?"

            "You'll see," he smiled, and then he loosely wrapped the scarf around the lower half of his head. "It seems to Remy dat you have to touch a person's skin to hurt them. If they're covered, then you're harmless- well, mostly." Under the scarf, he flashed a grin.

            Rogue's eyes widened with comprehension. Remy stepped in closer.

            "May I?" he asked softly. Rogue nodded. Remy leaned in, and kissed her.

            It wasn't like anything she'd ever felt before. The silk was amazingly sheer, and smooth. She could feel the heat of his lips through the silk.

            After a few moments, the kiss broke. They stared at each other.

            "Dat was… even better than I hoped," he said quietly.

            "It was wonderful," Rogue told him, just as softly.

            "_Non, not really. It gets better- much better. One day, I hope I can show you what it's really like."_

            "It's more than I hoped I'd ever be able to have," Rogue said, and her eyes began to tear up. They kissed again.

***

            Four Days Before the Prologue:

            "So, like _yeah, it was so much fun," Kitty said animatedly to the person on the other end of the phone._

            "I wish I could've been there," Lance replied, a little wistfully.

            "Well, I did invite you."

            "Yeah, but something… came up."

            Lance seemed a little defensive.

            "You mean like, suddenly?"

            "Yeah."

            "What was it?"

            "Sorry, but it's top secret- y'know, as in 'if I told you, I'd have to kill you.'"

            Kitty heard a voice say "Tell her! Tell her!" in the background.

            "Uh, could you hold on a minute, Kitty?"

            "Sure."

            Kitty heard what sounded like an earthquake, followed by a very satisfying "OW!"

            "Now where was I?" Lance asked as he came back on.

            "Secret assignment."

            "Oh, yeah. Well, I can't talk about it."

            They were silent for a while.

            "Well," Lance said, almost like he was trying to change the subject, "my schedule's clear for the next couple days, so do you wanna go out sometime?"

            "Oh, I'm studying for my exams. The only night I have study-free is tonight, so- can you go out tonight?"

            "Yeah! Hey- Pietro says that dance club in Bayville's pretty good, it opens early and closes late, and it doesn't have a cover charge. Wanna go there?"

            "Sure. How about I meet you there at 7:30?"

            "Great! See you then! Bye!"

            "Bye!"

            Kitty hung up the phone, and frowned. Lance didn't quite sound like himself. He sounded a little shaky, like he was almost totally drained or something and trying to hide it.

            Lance hung up his phone and sighed. He'd had another attack a couple days ago- in fact, it started a few hours after they returned from trying to tag along on Pietro's date. It was a bad one- it was only half as long as his attacks normally went, but it was twice as intense. Lance overheard Lifeline talking to Spirit. It could be just an isolated incident… or it could be a sign of something bad. Neither of them knew that Lance was conscious while they discussed him- and neither had seen fit to tell him. Lance's fists clenched. Why hadn't they? Why the hell not? It was his life, his health, his… everything that was on the line! Lifeline had suggested- not ordered, but suggested- that Lance stay in the Pit for the next few days for observation. Screw him. He was gonna have this date. He was gonna dance, and laugh, and talk with the one girl he loved. He was gonna forget- at least for one night.

***

            "Look alive, ladies and germs," Scalphunter said, calling the attention of the others. "We've got our map of the Bayville sewer system to review- yet again."

            The map was marked by various colours. The green areas were the areas least likely for the Morlocks to live in. Yellow were the even odds. Red marked the most likely areas.

            "I still say they're here," Riptide pointed to a yellow area. "We've all heard of the 'Power-8' break-ins. That had to be done by our prey."

            "No, they'd have moved," Scrambler argued.

            "I can't see why Sabretooth just doesn't go down into the sewers and find them for us," Vertigo sniffed.

            "'Cause it don't work like that," Sabretooth said as patiently as he could. _This was a hunter? "There're ways to hide your scent, and the Morlocks use 'em. I'd be able to find 'em eventually, but they'd know we were coming by then. They've got a guy named Caliban, an' he can detect mutant signatures if he's lookin' for 'em."_

            "Which is why we have to be on the lookout to follow one of them, if we want to follow the schedule," Arclight concluded. "Why don't we just send Prism down there?"

            "Are you kidding?" Prism asked. "I know a few of the Morlocks- and they know me! The moment they found I was there, the jig would be up, and I'd have to fight my way out- not a problem, but they'd be on the lookout, afterwards. They'd fight- or worse, they might even move- and we might not be able to do this in the timeframe."

            The Marauders shuddered. Sabretooth noted this with interest. Grey Crow wasn't the type to be easily spooked. This boss had to have some wicked painful punishments.

***

            Tommy studied her map intently. It led her north, to where her friends lived. When Mole left the Alley, a few of the Morlocks went with him. Tommy wasn't one of them, but she did consider it, to the point where she flipped a coin to decide whether or not she'd go too. Obviously, she stayed.

            She'd been to what became the home of the Eloi a few times. They were nice enough- kinda flaky, and with a strange need for committees, but truly nice and good people.

            She was used to travelling. She could survive in the wild, and when necessary, she could use her powers to tag along in a vehicle going north. She didn't dare stay in them too long, though, or she'd risk getting discovered, lost, or end up going places she didn't want to go.

            She remembered the last time she'd been up there that the Outriders found her within minutes of getting close to the camp. She wondered if they knew all the routes, or it maybe- just maybe- there was a way that they didn't know about…

***

            Three Days Before the Prologue:

            "This vas a good idea," Kurt smiled as he snuggled closer to Amanda.

            "I know," Amanda smiled, snuggling closer to Kurt.

            They were sitting together, wrapped in a blanket. They were on a park bench, on a bluff overlooking Bayville. It was beautiful night. The moon was full, and all the stars were visible, a rarity for any city.

            "So how do you think you did on all the exams?" Amanda asked.

            "I did just fine, and can ve please not talk about them anymore?"

            "Okay," Amanda grinned.

            They basked in silence, and the sounds of nature.

            "So vhat did you tell your parents about vhere you are tonight?"

            "Oh, I told them the truth- I just didn't say that you'd be here with me."

            "Sneaky."

            "I thought so." Amanda cuddled in even closer. At most other times, her mother might scry her to see what she was doing, but not at this point of her cycle. She had better things to do with her waning strength.

***

            Scott knocked on Jean's door. "Special delivery for Jean Grey," he grinned. In his hand was a bouquet of roses.

            "Oh, Scott," Jean breathed, "they're lovely."

            "Well, in that case, sign here," Scott said as he puckered up. Jean kissed him full on the lips.

            "Look, Scott," Jean began, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I've just… I haven't been sleeping well, lately."

            "Why not?" Scott asked. This wasn't good.

            "I've been having the nightmare again." Jean finally said.

            Scott hugged her. He knew what the nightmare was. First finding out about your powers was always traumatic- well, not so much for the mutants who looked different (like Kurt), because they obviously had other things to worry about- but what Jean went through the very first time her telepathy emerged... that was bad.

***

            Low Light and Cover Girl watched with resigned amusement as the children went at it yet again. Some things were preventable, but others just had to be allowed to happen, because it was safer that way. In this case, it was watching Blob and Xi fight over Xi's new stash of cookies, which was definitely the latter. As long as it didn't get too destructive, they were just going to sit back, share a flask of whiskey, and enjoy the show.

            "I tell ya, I didn't eat your cookies! That time," Fred said for the umpteenth time.

            "And I tell you, that is not what I have heard!" Xi called back.

            "Do you believe him?" Cover Girl asked.

            "The Blob?" Low Light snorted. "Hell, no."

            "I dunno," Cover Girl said thoughtfully. "I don't think Fred's this persistent. He wouldn't keep denying it this long."

            "And speaking of persistent," Low Light snickered. Looking up, Cover Girl saw Shipwreck in a snazzy tux. "Three guesses where he's going."

            "Doesn't he ever give up?"

            "No."

            "You'd think even he would get it through his skull that she's not interested."

            "It takes a hammer to get something through _his_ skull."

            "Amen."

            Silence for a moment. Well, silence punctured by the sounds of much arguing and fighting.

            Low Light noticed that Cover Girl was just looking at him, and not saying anything.

            "What?" he asked, a little irritably.

            "Your hair," she said. "You're growing it out, a bit."

            "So?" Was it noticeably longer? It had been a while since his last haircut.

            "It looks good."

            "Thanks," he grunted after a moment. He hated his hair. Most of the women he'd ever known had shown jealousy over his hair, and so did some of the men. He didn't know why. And his father… well, forget his father…

            "It's a good look for you," Cover Girl went on.

            Low Light blinked. No one had ever said that before- well, nobody except Una, but she was a special case, being his sister and all.

            "If you say so," was all he said.

            Silence for a while.

            "God," Cover Girl finally snorted, "you're pretty thick, aren't you?"

            "What?" Suddenly it hit him. No, it couldn't be. "Are you… trying to flirt with me?"

            "What do you think?" she asked, before she pulled him into a kiss.

            "Yeah, I'd say you are," he managed to say after the kiss was done. Cover Girl made a disgusted sound and looked away. "Hey!" He stepped in front of her. He blushed, and then pulled his glasses off. "Next time," he said softly, "talk about my aim." He leaned in, and kissed her, and she kissed back.

            From her hidden vantage point in the bushes, Bree grinned in triumph. She knew it would take the direct approach to get her friend to clue in to Cover Girl's attraction. She took a quick look at the time and date on her watch, saw that by now the kids noticed and were cheering and whistling, and went off to find Snow Job. She had winnings to collect. The Cover Girl/Low Light first kiss was at 17:07 of Monday of the very week Bree had picked for them to finally lock lips. And the fact that Bree made an innocent suggestion to Courtney was a coincidence, of course… Now, all she had to do was arrange their first date, and her winnings could double.

***

            Two Days Before the Prologue:

            Tommy looked around. She was sure she passed that tree two hours ago.

            She sat against it and sighed. Maybe trying to surprise her friends wasn't a good idea. But, by this point, she was lost.

            She stood up. It wouldn't do any good to sit and mope. She picked a direction, and resolved to buy a compass at the next possible opportunity.

***

            "COME BACK HERE, YOU LUNATIC! AND GET SOME CLOTHES ON!"

            It was a calm day at the X-Mansion. And then, the Misfits came for a visit.

            The usual thing happened.

            "WHEE! FEEL THE BREEZE!" Xi yelled as he ran by, half the mansion on his heels.

            "Why didn't you tell me that he gets like this when he eats cookies?" Elisabeth asked Pietro, as they watched the carnage.

            "Some things it's better to discover on your own," Pietro grinned.

            "If you say so…"

            "KITTY IS MINE!" Peter shouted as he engaged in another wrestling match with Lance.  
  
            "NO, SHE'S MINE!" Lance shouted back.

            "Would you two boys knock it off? Although, it is, like, so sweet you're both fighting over me…"

            "Shouldn't someone talk to her? They're going to destroy the lawn?"

            "They've done it before. They'll do it again. And talking to the Kit-Kat is like talking to a brick wall. You need a hammer to penetrate that skull."

            "And speaking of things that need to be hammered…"

            "WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?" Shipwreck screamed as Ororo chased him. He was dressed in leopard skin bikini briefs.

            "THE STRIP-O-GRAM!"

            "Strip-o-Gram?" Pietro marvelled. "That's a new one."

            "If he really wanted to impress her, he should have asked Bree to lend him her special helicopter," Elisabeth laughed. Pietro shot her a blank look.

            "You know, the one that she used to take him to the cabin."

            Pietro still looked blank.

            "Don't tell me you haven't heard this story!"

            "COME BACK HERE, TOAD!"

            "COME GET ME, SCOOTER!"

            "If you do that again, Althea…"

            "You'll do what, exactly, Red? Let me kick your ass one more time?"

            "I'll show you an asskicking, you…"

            "Will you maniacs shut up?" Remy screamed from inside. "Remy cannot hear Emeril!"

            "Don't make me come out there!" Fred added. Emeril Lagasse was one of the few major chefs that both of them admired.

            "Oh my God!" Pietro wheezed. He was laughing so hard he could barely speak. "I can't believe we haven't heard that! And I thought we heard all the good stories!"

            "They were probably afraid you'd never let Bree or Edwin hear the end of it," Elisabeth laughed.

            "Oh, believe me, we won't," Pietro grinned as many possible solid-gold-helicopter-related pranks entered his mind.

            "Here's to a job well done, ladies," Daria grinned as Trinity looked down at their prize: a stripped-to-his-underwear-and-hog-tied Jamie Madrox.

            "Here's to another peaceful afternoon with the X-Men and the Misfits," Wanda said sarcastically, as she and Rogue made a mock-toast with their Pepsi's.

            "Here's to liquor, beer, wine, spirits, and all kinds of alcohol!" Xavier sighed as took a large gulp of his drink and surveyed the chaos from the safety of his office.

            "Amen!" Logan, Jinx, Low Light, Cover Girl, Beast, and Roadblock chorused.

***

One Day Before the Prologue:

            "Hello! What's this?"

            "What is it, Prism?" Arclight asked.

            "I think we've got a signature!" Prism said excitedly. He was looking at a screen that was attached to an odd-looking contraption. "It's heading to the Eloi!"

            "What's that thing?" Sabretooth asked.

            "That's supposed to be a mutant tracking machine," Scalphunter sighed.

            "'Supposed' to be?"

            "The last time Prism got a signature, it turned out to be a moose in heat."

            "I've fixed it!" Prism protested.

            "And how did you do that?"

            "I borrowed some of your parts," Prizm grinned.

            "THAT WAS YOU?!?" Scalphunter quickly assembled a gun and started shooting. Prizm dodged, and started firing his laser-light back. Everybody hit the deck.

            "Stop them, will you?" Polaris snapped. "I have to inform the master."

            "It's probably another moose!" Blockbuster called over the fracas.

            "You know the rules!"

            Minutes later, Scalphunter and Prizm sat growling at each other as the others separated them and Polaris used her private communicator.

            "We go check it out," she said as she returned to the room.

            "Fine," Scalphunter muttered. "Scrambler, Sabretooth, Vertigo, you're with me. The rest of you stay here. If it pans out, we'll let you know."

***

            Tommy grinned as she looked down from her vantage point. She was in a tiny mountain pass, and from it, she could see the homes of the Eloi in the valley below. And there really was a blind spot in the Outriders' route. She considered going down from where she was, but she changed her mind. She knew how to find the main route in from where she was, and she didn't want to rub her discovery in the Outriders' faces- too much. Barring a disaster, she'd make it there in time for supper.

            Humming to herself as she set off, she reflected on how good it was to realize you know where you are after you've been lost.

***

            "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Scalphunter growled as he watched the young mutant hike along, cheerfully oblivious to the threat not a few yards away. "Prism's gonna be impossible to live with after this."

            "What do we do now?" Scrambler asked.

            "Scrambler, Vertigo, you're with me. Sabretooth, retrace her tracks. None of the Eloi leave their valley unescorted, so chances are this little girl knows a way out that they don't."

            "And a way out is also a way in," Sabretooth grinned wickedly. "I'm on it."

***

            "That's not an Eloi," Prism hissed as he saw her. It was much later, and the rest of the Marauders had been assembled. "Her name's Tommy, and she's a Morlock. She didn't go with Mole and his little band when they left the sewers."

            "If she's a Morlock, then she can lead us to them," Vertigo smirked.

            "Good girl," Riptide said sarcastically. "You can see the obvious."

            "So we jump her?" Blockbuster asked.

            "Not yet," Scalphunter frowned. "How tough is she, Prism?"

            "Not very," Prism snorted.

            "Then why don't we have some fun with her?" Polaris asked, a wicked light in her eye.

            "What?" Scalphunter asked irritably.

            "We could force her to lead us to her people, but why don't we make her run to them? It'll take longer, but we'll still be within the timeframe."

            "And how do you figure that?"

            "Just listen…"

            Many of the others laughed as Polaris finished.

            "That's great," Sabretooth grinned. The others nodded.

            "You think you can follow her?" Arclight asked.

            "In my sleep," Polaris snorted. "She'll never even know I'm there- until I want her to."

            Harpoon and Scalphunter didn't like it. They enjoyed the kill as much as any of the others, and they liked to play as well, but they felt that overly tormenting the prey beforehand was… tacky.

            "She can't lead us into any form of a trap if she doesn't know she's being followed," Harpoon said reluctantly. Scalphunter nodded. Harpoon was right.

            "Then let's get at it," he told his team.

***

            Tommy cursed a bit as she quickened her pace. Her suppertime arrival estimate was far too optimistic.

            Oh, well. It wasn't long now. Any minute now, she'd reach the outer limits of the Outriders' patrol route, and it wouldn't take long to get noticed from there.

            She suddenly felt a gust of wind in front of her face. Then she heard a thunk. Looking to her right, she saw a quivering shooting star embedded in the tree. She felt more wind, and heard another thunk. It came from a tree to her left.

            And then, she felt several winds, and heard many thunks. The trees around her all had shooting stars sticking out of them.

            "Well, aren't you just a precious thing," a cruel voice whispered. Tommy looked around. She didn't see anybody, and the voice could have come from anywhere.

            "You're just an innocent, wandering the woods, aren't you?" the voice asked.

            "Y-yes, yes I am," Tommy gulped. Whoever it was, it wasn't an Eloi, or an Outrider.

            "Too bad," the voice said mock-sympathetically. "I hate innocents. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to kill you."

            The shooting stars suddenly exited the trees, and made a line in Tommy's path. They were joined by others, until row after row of stars were blocking her way.

            "Now, make this entertaining, and run," the voice hissed.

            Begin Prologue.

**Yeah, I know- it took me long enough. I'm sorry! I know- don't be sorry, just write faster. I will- I'll try. Well, you're up to speed, and now the real action begins. There's gonna be blood, and there's gonna be character death. Who's gonna die? Read and find out in "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Eight: Sneak Attack!**


	9. Sneak Attack

**Chapter Eight: Sneak Attack**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

            "Nice place," Riptide said sarcastically as he moved down towards the Eloi's encampment.

            "The Eloi either live in the trees or in the cavern," Scalphunter said for the umpteenth time. "Most of 'em won't pose too much of a threat, but some of them might say to hell with pacifism. It's the Outriders we're mostly gonna have to deal with. Kill everything that moves until they're all dead, or until I call a retreat."

            "Looks like we're gonna get an early start," Prism snickered. "Look."

            Running toward them were a bunch of young Eloi.

            "Hello strangers," the one in the lead panted. "We've never seen you here before. How did you come here?"

            "Well, hello there yourself," Polaris said, pushing her way to the front. "Did you know that there's a pass in that valley over there? The formation of the rocks hides it, but that's how we got in."

            "What?" The young man cried. "We should tell the Outriders!"

            "Yes," Polaris grinned. "You never know what could happen if a bunch of strangers stumbled upon your home."

            "Thorn says that they might attack us," an especially young Eloi piped up.

            "That they could, child. Like _this_!" She lifted the lead Eloi high into the air with their, and brought him down to earth with a sickening crunch.

            The other children screamed, and fled. Or tried to.

***

            "Thorn!" Hound Dog hissed.

            "What?"

            "Blood. I smell blood. Coming from the camp!"

            "Mrs. S? Is something wrong?"

            Mrs. S. frowned, and used her powers to scan the camp.

            "We're under attack!" She screamed.

            "Outriders- let's go!" Thorn yelled.

***

            "This _is fun!" Blockbuster laughed as he punched through the chest of a mutant that looked like a giant ape._

            "Told ya," Prizm smirked as he used his powers to first dazzle some escaping Eloi. He then focused his beams, and shot them through various body parts. "It's the screaming."

            Everybody was killing. Scalphunter was shooting with amazing accuracy. Arclight was making heads explode when her fist hit them. Harpoon was spearing Eloi, and Sabretooth was clawing them to death.

            "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of skill and grace," Riptide sang as he pursued some targets of his own, hitting them with his shooting stars when they thought they were safe.

            "Oh, not that again," Vertigo sniffed. She noticed that one of the 'corpses' that Prizm impaled was getting away. Grinning, she sprinted ahead of the sobbing Eloi, and used her powers on the girl, who fell to the earth. Vertigo took her gun out and took aim… and was hit from behind by a whip.

            "STAY AWAY FROM HER, YOU BITCH!" Willow screamed. Animated plants and vines were swirling around her. Riptide turned and fired some of his shuriken at her. The plants enclosed Willow, and took the hits. Then, vines enclosed Riptide. One got around his neck, and started choking him.

            Willow had never been as enraged in her entire life. She didn't know who these monsters were, and she didn't care. The vine around the one's throat tightened, and tightened even more…

            Arclight snuck up behind the girl. One good punch was all it should take. Then, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Whirling, she saw Scalphunter.

            "I'll do it. You knock out their communications."

            Arclight snarled, but did as she was ordered. Scalphunter watched the shifting plants, and shot a specially made flare through them. The flare burned through the plants and hit Willow in the shoulder. Willow screamed and fell, and the plants around her, and attacking Riptide, relaxed. Scalphunter went to her, and turned her over.

            "Gr- Grey Crow?" Willow stammered. She couldn't believe it.

            "Hello, child," he said evenly. "Now, do what I tell you, and play dead."

            "You're with these people, aren't you?"

            "Yup. Now play dead like I told you."

            "W-Why?"

            "Yours is not to reason why, child. Now do what I tell you! I don't want to hurt you, but it doesn't mean I won't."

            "STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, YOU SLIME!"

A very familiar voice was audible through the chaos. Scalphunter turned, and sure enough, there was Thorn, running straight for them, a large woman with a rainbow beehive hairdo hot on his heels.

"Hello, old friend," Scalphunter smiled. "I was just catching up with my god-daughter." He picked Willow up, and hung her over his shoulder. He wasn't a coward, but a human shield was always a wise thing when it was available. Behind the two, he could see Sabretooth fighting a golden retriever and a cat-man, and Arclight trading blows with a large bald biker.

"Put her down," Thorn said, and his eyes narrowed. The enormous woman with the dyed hair put a hand to her head. Scalphunter burst out laughing.

"You really didn't think I'd come here without a telepathic-block implanted, did you?"

"Mrs. S, go deal with the rest of the intruders. I've got this one." The woman- Mrs. S- nodded, and left.

"Put my daughter down, Grey Crow," Thorn repeated.

"No."

"I will kill you."

"And _I will finish what I started the last time we were all together," Scalphunter said, indicating Thorn's face. "You want to spend the rest of your life blind?"_

"Just try it," Thorn snarled. Scalphunter nodded, and put Willow down. She got to her feet, unsteadily. "Willow, go help the Outriders."  
  


"But father-"

"DO IT!"

Willow stayed motionless, then went off. The two combatants squared off, and the fight was on.

***

            Mole looked around at the ruins of his home.

            "Oh, no, no, no…" he moaned.

            The Outriders had arrived, and were fighting the intruders, and they were holding there own, but they were outnumbered. The intruders that weren't fighting the Outriders were going around killing his people.

            He ducked back into the Cavern. At the back, there was a communication device, given to him by GI Joe.

            "Help, help, GI Joe!" He yelled after he activated it. "This is Mole. We're under attack, and we need your help _right now!_"

***

            Vertigo looked at the girl at her feet.

            "Not so good when you can't point, are you?" Vertigo smirked.

            Willow tried to follow the murderess' voice, but couldn't. She was so dizzy she could barely see.

            "Oh, are we dizzy?" Vertigo asked in mock-sympathy. She pointed her gun at the girl's head. "Well, we can fix that…"

            "Oh, so sorry, can't let you do that," a new voice said. Suddenly, Vertigo's gun was gone. Looking, she saw a white-haired boy in a blue costume unloading her gun.

            "Let's rock and roll, Misfits!" Another boy shouted. He sent a tremor at Vertigo, and it knocked her off her feet.

            Did he just say… oh bloody hell. This is about to get interesting.

            Another girl picked Vertigo up. She had black hair with blue streaks, and she was pissed.

            "Talk, bitch," the girl hissed. "What the hell are you after?"

            Looking over the girl's shoulder, she could see that the Misfits were engaging her teammates.

            "Go play with your dollies, little brat," Vertigo said as she used her powers. "Don't concern yourself with adult business." The girl gasped, and let her go. Vertigo got up. She recognized the kids from their descriptions, and there was one that she could really screw over. Where was… ah, there she was. She quickly caught Scramblers eye, and gestured. He smirked- it was a maneuver they'd perfected a while back. Vertigo used her powers on the Scarlet Witch.

            "Ahh!" Wanda shouted, as intense dizziness overcame her. She was blasting a man with long hair, and then she could barely see. She stopped firing, but her last blast hit the mouth of the Cavern, which promptly collapsed. Suddenly, a man jumped on her. Wanda tried to fire a hex-bolt, but found that she couldn't! Scrambler smiled in triumph- the girl's blast couldn't have hit a better place if he'd directed it himself! He turned over, and began to strangle the Witch. From her struggles, it was clear she'd had some physical training- but not enough. Too bad- for her…

            Vertigo turned to look at the girl- Wavedancer- only to find that she wasn't there. Vertigo instinctively moved, and barely avoided a blow to her head. She turned to use her powers on Wavedancer… only to find the girl's eyes closed. Vertigo gasped- with her eyes closed, Wavedancer was immune to her powers. Wavedancer hit again, and Vertigo went down. Snorting at the unconscious woman at her feet, Althea went to help Wanda.

***

            Meanwhile, Fred was facing Blockbuster down.

            "So you think you can hurt me, fat boy?" Blockbuster sneered.

            "Lets find out," Fred spat, and hit Blockbuster in the mouth. Blockbuster looked surprised, and spat out a tooth.

            "I actually felt that," he said, almost admiringly. "I haven't felt a hit like that in quite a while. Let me thank you, boy." He hit Fred in the eye before Fred could block. They began to trade blows.

            Another Eloi charged Blockbuster from behind. Without missing a beat, Blockbuster dealt a stunning blow to Fred's jaw, and as Fred fell back, he picked the charging Eloi up, and threw him to ground, where he pounded his fist through the Eloi's chest. He never got tired of doing that.

            He turned back to his main opponent, who was blinking and shaking his head. Blockbuster made a choice- he would wait for the boy to recover. It was the least he could do for the first guy in far too long to give him a decent workout.

***

            "So you're the earth mover, right?"

            Lance turned to see the speaker. She was a muscular woman with dark, shoulder length hair. She would have been beautiful if she didn't look so cruel- and if she didn't have blood on her.

            "So what if I am?"

            She gave him a wicked smile. "Rock my world, Tadpole."

            "The name's _Avalanche_," Lance grunted as he sent a tremor her way. The woman laughed, and punched the ground. A tremor emanated from her, and cancelled out his!

            "Is that the best you can do?" she sneered. "This is gonna be even more fun than I thought." She stamped her foot, and another tremor shot at Lance. He cancelled it out, but it wasn't easy.

            The woman grinned.

            "Much more fun…"

***

            Not all of the Marauders were having fun.

            "Stay put, you little froggy freak!" Prizm yelled at Todd, who was easily dodging all of his laser lights. The files said the boy had no psychic ability at all, but somehow the brat knew just when to turn and jump to avoid being hit. The beams only barely missed, but with his rays, missing by a millimetre was as good as missing by a meter. And the boy was showing no fatigue at all.

            "Nyah nyah nyah-nyah nyah!" Todd taunted.

            "Rip! A little help here!" Prizm finally shouted.

            "I'm busy!" Riptide snapped. Riptide had only ever met one man who was even more accurate than he was. If Bullseye never missed, then Riptide billed himself as the man who almost never missed.

            Of course, this was his first time against an opponent as fast as he. Quicksilver's speed wasn't limited to spinning, which made him a hell of a lot more mobile, and he'd obviously been given some training at catching thrown objects. Riptide could barely pin him down, but nothing more. It was pissing the hell out of him.

            Pietro scowled. The guy hadn't run out of those shooting stars, so he had to be making them somehow. Pietro could take just about any of these guys out, but the moment he turned his back, this guy would start killing again, and not even Pietro was fast enough to prevent him from killing more Eloi- or, for that matter, some of the Misfits. Until Blob or Toad- or somebody who couldn't get hit- came to help him, he had to pin this guy down.

            Or so he thought until one of those shooting stars almost took a few inches off of his hair. Pietro's eyes narrowed. That's it! This guy is going down now!

***

            Xi prowled through the woods. He had found some Eloi children, and had guided them to what he hoped was a safe hiding place. He made his way back to the clearing, back to the fight, when his path was suddenly blocked by a short, powerful looking man. From the man's stance, it was clear that he knew Xi was there, despite Xi's camouflage being in use. From his bloodstained clothing and lack of noticeable wounds, he had to be one of the invaders. And it was clear where he was heading.

            "Is it sporting to kill children?" Xi spat.

            "Only the unfit die in a hunt," the man responded evenly. "The sick and the old, usually, but sometimes the foolish. The young also die, if they are not suitably protected. But then, you should know that, Xi. Or do you prefer 'Eleven'?"

            Xi stepped in front of the man, and became visible.

            "My name is Xi," Xi said quietly. "All of those who called me Eleven are dead now."

            The man bowed his head in acknowledgement. "You may call me Harpoon."

            Xi couldn't detect the man's abilities, but whatever else he was, he was a skilled fighter and hunter. Neither one made the first move, but they both circled each other.

***

            Sabretooth couldn't help but grin. Outnumbered as he was, this was the best fight he'd had in far too long. The hunt was great, and now this!

            He was fighting the remaining Outriders. The one with the claw was fast, and the biker couple were great in tandem. The animal people weren't bad themselves, but Sabretooth had dealt with them. They wouldn't be returning to this fight, but the other Outriders intervened before he could finish them off. His joy turned to anger as he saw the newest arrivals- not the Misfits, but the Joes.

            Several Joes were teleporting in, evidently some kind of reinforcement force. They were going to aid the Misfits and the Outriders, until they noticed all the bodies.

            "Dear God in Heaven," Lifeline breathed as he saw the carnage. The ground was covered in dead and wounded Eloi. As he caught sight of the combatants, his horror turned into rage.

            "I need some help here!" There would be time for emotion later. Right now, these people needed a doctor. Most of the Joes went to help Lifeline and the wounded. The kids and the Outriders were more than enough for the bastards that did this.

            Low Light didn't help with the others. He merely took aim at Sabretooth's head. But before he could pull the trigger, the barrel was twisted upwards, and the gun flew out of his hand.

            "Come out here where I can see you, Bucket-Head!" Low Light screamed. It didn't seem like Magneto's style, and he didn't recognize any of the invaders, but if Sabretooth was here, then his boss wasn't far away.

            "Well, I've been called a lot of things, but 'Bucket-Head' is new," a young female voice said from above them. A young woman descended to the earth. She was dressed in black, with a black cloak and a black mask which didn't cover very much of her face. Her hair was green, as was her eyes. There was a choker around her neck, but Low Light couldn't see what was on it.

            "You're with the assholes, aren't you?"

            "Correct. You may call me…" she paused, as if she had to think about it, "Polaris." She raised her hand, and every single weapon on Low Light's person suddenly detached, and flew up in the air.

            "You have an impressive… arsenal," Polaris leered. "Mind showing me your last weapon?"

            "Take a look at this!" Low Light shifted into an energy form and charged. Polaris laughed and flew into the air.

            "I half expected you to take a metallic form," she called down. "It seems you aren't an idiot after all. But unless you can fly, you won't be getting your toys back. Oh, but don't worry. I'll be putting them to good use."

            She began to shoot more Eloi with Low Light's guns. Low Light screamed in rage. He hadn't felt so helpless since Morrisseau.

***

"Yo Joe!" Jinx cried as she kicked Scalphunter in the jaw. He fell, but he wasn't out. He fixed her with a venomous glare. He couldn't fight two trained opponents, and they all knew it.

            "I recognize you!" Jinx shouted as she saw his face. "You were with Sabretooth in the Princess Bar!"

            "Yes, yes I was," Scalphunter grunted. "And you're with the Runt. Give him my best. Marauders! Time to go!"

            "You're not going anywhere, murderer!" Thorn yelled.

            "Yes, actually, I am." He began to rise into the air, as did the other Marauders.

            "Oh, no you're not!" Thorn used his powers to raise a number of vines in the air, and after a second, Willow joined him. But the Marauders rose too quickly to be caught.

            "Oh, and when you see the bald cripple again, tell him Malice sends her love," the green haired girl called down to them as they flew out of sight.

            "Follow them!" Jinx tried to yell at the Misfits, but before she could finish, there was an explosion. It was minor, but it let loose a lot of smoke, clearly as a distraction. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of where the attackers went.

            The ground beneath Jinx shook a bit. She and Thorn stepped back. A minute later, a hole appeared, and Mole stuck his head out.

            "Are they gone?" he asked. Thorn nodded, and he and Jinx helped him up.

            "NO!" Mole screamed as he saw what was left of his home.

            "Mole, I am so sorry," Thorn said, as he sank to his knees before the leader of the Eloi. "We- _I_- failed you, and-"

            "No, my friend," Mole said, in a tone nobody had ever heard him use before. "It is not you that needs to be sorry."

            Lifeline stood up from where he was tending patients. He went over to Mole, who was quickly becoming the centre of a large group of people- Eloi, Outriders, Joes, and Misfits.

            He coughed gently, and somehow got their attention.

            "I can't do this alone, and we don't have the facilities for all these people at the Pit," he said simply. He'd done what he could, but there was no way that he could help everybody. They couldn't take all the Eloi to normal doctors, and nobody was going to trust military doctors, which left only one option, and the Joes and Misfits knew it.

            "Can they be teleported?" Spirit asked. Lifeline nodded. "Then let's hope the Xavier Institute isn't under some sort of attack right now."

**Well, that's it. Was it easy to read? It wasn't easy to write. I wanted to convey just how sick the Marauders are, without getting too openly bloody. The body count was bad- far from total, but bad. The survivors go to the Institute for help, and the attack is discussed, as is Polaris' final message. **

**Stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Nine: Aftermath**


	10. Aftermath

**Chapter Nine: Aftermath**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

**RogueFanKC, L1701E- Don't worry. The Marauders will get what they deserve, but not right away.**

**L1701E- You should have Craig take Sabretooth on. That would be a fight to remember! There are reasons for Polaris' behaviour, and they will be revealed by the end. **

**RogueFanKC- Yes, Willow is pretty tough, isn't she? I wasn't originally going to have her in the final showdown, but now I might. On behalf of the Eloi, thank you for the wreaths. Yes, the Misfits and the X-Men are gonna cool down the fighting in the future- but not completely. Not completely at all.**

_Students, report to the Danger Room immediately!_

            "It must be important," Scott said to nobody in particular. "The Professor hasn't sounded that worried since… I don't think I've ever heard him sound like that."

            "Something's wrong," Jean said as the doors opened, and the students of the Xavier Institute walked into a nightmare. The Danger Room was full of people, most of them clearly mutants.

            "Oh my God." No one was sure who said it, but it was the sentiment on everybody's mind.

            "It's about time you're here," Logan grunted as he went up to them.

            "What happened?" Scott asked.

            "No time for that now. Listen to me- Charles and Beast at the Pit, helping Lifeline handle the ones who are hurt the worst. They want Jean and Psylocke to get there a.s.a.p."

            "But what can we-" Elisabeth began.

            "You'll find out when you get there. Get going." He handed them each a wristwatch. "The co-ordinates have been set. Just press the red button."

            They did, and they vanished.

            "Colossus, Cannonball- you're with me. The rest of you, stay here and help. Storm and Spirit are in charge, but you do what any adult asks you."

            Logan grabbed Sam and Peter and moved them over to another part of the room. Storm quickly took his place.

            "New Mutants, join the Misfits in setting up cots and tables for the wounded. When you're done, report to Spirit. X-Men- if somebody starts complaining of any kind of pain, try to help them. If you can't help, have Kurt or Pietro get an adult immediately. Rogue, Roberto- you're the strongest, so you're in charge of restraining anybody that acts up. Be as gentle as you possibly can. Rogue, if all else fails, you can touch them, but only do it if you have no choice."

            Scott led the way through the crowd. He found Spirit kneeling over a young mutant with a broken leg. He was setting it.

            "I know you kids know first aid. Now, I'm afraid you're going to have to use it. Do any of you know how to set a bone?"

            "I do," Scott said quietly.

            "Good. We've got a number of people with broken limbs. One is in the bunk next to me."

            Scott took the hint. He got started.

            "I don't know how to set broken bones," Kitty told him. Spirit looked up at her.

            "Can you sew?"

            Kitty nodded. Spirit pointed to another corner of the room.

            "Shipwreck's with the people that need stitches. Help him. The stitches don't have to be too neat as long as they work and have been sterilized."

            "I'm on it," Kitty said as she ran to her new post.

            "Can either of you treat burns?" Spirit asked Kurt and Remy. They both shook their heads.

            "Well, it's a good thing we don't have too many of those. Barbecue's handling the burn victims. Do exactly what he tells you, and with some luck you'll be done in time to help some others."

            "I'm here to help," Kitty said as she joined Shipwreck, the Triplets, and Pietro.

            "Good," Shipwreck grunted. "That's alcohol in the bottle over there. Put a bit of it on a cotton ball, and run it over a wound- and make sure you rub it everywhere. When you're done, throw the ball away. After that, get a needle, and dip it in that bowl of alcohol to sterilize it. The thread's right beside the needles. Make sure you sterilize the scissors too."

            "Are we, like, gonna give them any painkillers?"

            "Thanks for reminding me. See the syringes? Their loaded up. When you use one, put it on that tray, and tell Pietro if we're almost out. He'll get more fresh ones for us."

            Kitty nodded, and got started.

            "What happened?" She asked as she worked.

            "It was bad," Pietro told her softly. "Very bad."

***

            Logan, Sam, and Peter appeared in a clearing. It was very beautiful- if you ignored the blood, guts, and bodies that were everywhere. Low Light, Thorn, Xi, and Fred were there.

            "You guys lived on farms, so you're used to death," Logan said shortly. "That's why you're going to help bury these people. We wouldn't have you do it, but a lot of the Joes are busy on another mission, and the rest are helping the wounded." He led them over to the other group, and the teenagers got to work burying, while the adults tried to figure out exactly how the attackers found them.

            "What happened here?" Sam asked as they got to work.

            "The Eloi were attacked," Xi told him simply. "They had no warning, and since the Outriders were patrolling, they were defenceless. Most of this had already been done by the time we were alerted. If the Outriders hadn't held them off, and if Mole was prevented from alerting us, the death toll would have been much higher."

            Peter looked down at the body of a young girl near his feet. She wasn't much younger than Illyana was when she died. She went into the first grave Peter dug. He breathed a prayer in Russian, and when he was done, and started digging more graves. As he started, he caught a glimpse of Fred's face. There were bruises developing on it.

            "Did one of the attackers do that to you?" he asked in surprise. Fred nodded. Peter whistled. The one that did that must have been truly strong indeed.

            "If I ever meet that guy again," Fred muttered. Peter nodded, and for a reason he didn't quite understand he clapped a hand on Fred's shoulder before getting back to work. He completely understood how Fred was feeling, and he didn't even witness the fight, or the killings.

***

            "So, what do you need us to do?" Jean asked nobody in particular. After they arrived in the Pit, they were sent to scrub and to but surgical gowns, gloves, and masks on. Then they were sent into the operating room. The Professor and Beast were already there, as were Lifeline and Bree, a man introduced as Doc, and a pair that neither of them had ever met before: a Scottish woman introduced as Dr. Moira MacTaggart, and her nurse, an Irish man introduced as Mr. Sean Cassidy.

            "Jean, Elisabeth, what I'm going to ask you to do will be difficult, but not beyond your abilities," the Professor said as he operated. "Allow me to touch your minds, and I'll guide you through it."

            The girls nodded, and gasped after a moment. What the Professor showed them was…

            "It's not beyond your abilities," he repeated. "I wouldn't be asking you if it were. And everyone in this room is willing."

            The girls looked at each other, and nodded. Given the number of people that needed surgery, they couldn't really say no.

***

            Hours later, it was all done. The Eloi were resting in the Danger Room, and those who were uninjured (or mostly uninjured) were walking around the Institute and the grounds, looking shell-shocked.

            The Misfits, X-Men, New Mutants, and Willow were resting in the Rec Room. They were too drained to argue amongst themselves.

            "So how did Baldy get you guys to be good doctors?" Todd asked Jean and Elisabeth.

            "The Professor had us read the minds of the other people in the room," Elisabeth said.

            "He called it brainstorming," Jean added. "It's what you do when you need to do something quickly. It's not permanent, but it lasts awhile."

            "And when you can keep 'refreshing' your skills, you can do whatever you need to for quite a long time."

            "I wonder what they're talking about," Amara said to nobody in particular. There was a big meeting in Xavier's den. The teachers, some Joes, the Outriders, Mole, Mr. Cassidy, Dr. MacTaggart, and even General Hawk himself were there.

            "Guess," Willow muttered. "All I know is if I ever get my hands upon those monsters again, I'll…"

            "And you're not the only one," Althea said grimly. The other Misfits nodded.

***

            "WOO HOO!" Blockbuster crowed as the Marauders returned to their HQ. "Even with those army pricks and those meddling kids, we kicked ass!" He high-fived Arclight. The rest of the Marauders were engaged in the same self-congratulation. Many were comparing and reliving the best kills.

            "Indeed, you did, Blockbuster," a very quiet voice came from one of the chairs. The Marauders automatically shut up. Sabretooth, sensing the trend, became quiet as well.

            The chair turned around, and a man got up. He could have been anybody. Brown hair, brown eyes, average height, average build, very ordinary features… this man was the poster boy for Joe Q. Normal.

            Sabretooth's ears perked up as he heard some of the Marauders whisper the word 'Master.' He'd come to respect these people, far more than he respected most of the other Acolytes. Sabretooth didn't even call Magneto 'Master.'

            This guy had to be pretty damned powerful to earn that kind of fear.

            "The first phase of the attack went better than I could have hoped," the man continued. "The presence of GI Joe and their juvenile lackeys was expected. In fact, I half-expected Xavier's disciples to have shown up as well. The next phase promises to be far more difficult, as the Morlocks will maim and kill in self-defence. However, I have discovered their location." He put a map down on the table, and the Marauders gathered around it. "I have chosen the best spots for an invasion. Our numbers are limited, but we will have the element of surprise. When they are disturbed, they will flee from their 'Alley' like rats fleeing a sinking ship." The man caught Sabretooth's eye. "And we all know what cats do to rats. And now that I'm on the topic, I hope that you've enjoyed yourself today, Sabretooth. You're even better than Grey Crow said you are. You may call me Essex." He pointed at the map. "Now, Scalphunter, this is where I want you…"

            Sabretooth looked at Essex with respect which surprised him. He wasn't the hands on type, but he knew how to plan a battle. Magneto could be very cunning, but his plans lacked a certain degree of finesse. This plan was well thought out, and promised a lot of bloodshed. Even Magneto's bloodiest plans weren't anywhere near as bloody as the attack on the Eloi was, or the invasion of the Morlock tunnels promised to be.

            Sabretooth began to re-think his allegiances.

***

            "They came through a mountain pass," Logan explained, and he indicated it on the displayed map.

            "All that time, and we didn't know it was there," Mrs. S scowled. "How the could we have missed it?!?"

            "It was very well hidden," Low Light reminded. "Anybody could have missed it. It wasn't-"

            "YES IT DAMN WELL WAS!" Thorn screamed. "It was our duty to guard the Eloi, and we failed! We-" He was cut off by a hand touching his arm.

            "You have nothing to blame yourselves for, any of you," Mole said firmly, catching the eye of all the Outriders to emphasise the point. "You've guarded us for years. You've saved us from Cobra and other scoundrels many times over. If it hadn't been for you, none of us would be here now."

            Everyone was silent. There was nothing to say. There was nothing to be said.

            "Tell us about these mutants," the Professor said after a while. "I understand Sabretooth was with them, but tell us about the others."

            "I know one of them," Thorn said softly. "He was like a brother to me, once. His name is Grey Crow."

            "Grey Crow?" Logan and Sean exclaimed.

            "You know him?"

            "He's a bounty hunter," Logan grunted. "He'll hunt anything, human, mutant, or animal."

            "That's why they call the bastard Scalphunter," Sean growled. "He's a wanted man in as many countries as I can name."

            "I saw him last week in Madripoor," Logan said quietly. "He said he had business with Sabretooth. Now we know what it was. That's one more thing I owe him."

            "Get in line, Logan," Thorn told him. "I didn't recognize any of the others, but I got a look at what they can do." He gave a quick description of the invaders. Low Light added that the green haired girl called herself Polaris.

            "At first, I thought it was Magneto," Low Light told them. "But sending his Acolytes to kill a settlement of mutants isn't his style."

            "Nae, he'd try to convert them," Moira added.

            "You know of him?" Hawk asked.

            "Oh, nae. I _know_ him, or I thought I did." Moira took a sip of her coffee. "I used to call him a friend. A good one, at that."

            "He doesn't have any other children, does he?"

            "No," Xavier said. "Pietro and Wanda are his only living children- but that has nothing to do with the events of today. Is there anything else anybody knows?"

            "Polaris sent you a message," Lifeline said. "Just when they were escaping. She said to tell you that Malice sends her love."

            Xavier's face went very still. Logan shot Lifeline a sharp look, Ororo sat up very straight, and Moira gasped.

            "Are you certain?" Xavier asked. The Joes and the Outriders nodded. Xavier hung his head.

            "This girl- she called me a bald cripple, didn't she." It wasn't a question.

            "Yeah, she did," Shipwreck told him.

            "Was she wearing some sort of necklace around her neck? It would have been very tight, almost like a choker. It has the picture of a woman's face on it."

            "I didn't see any designs on the choker," Low Light said, "but she was wearing one." The senior X-Men, minus Hank, and Moira exchanged a look.

            "It fits, Charles," Logan said. "The choker, the cruelty of the attack, the fact that she targeted innocents. She's alive."

            "You know who this Malice is?" Spirit asked.

            "It… is a long story, but yes," Ororo said, slowly. "Malice is-"

            "In a way, Malice is my daughter," Xavier said quietly. That got everybody's attention.

***

            Polaris quickly responded to Essex's summons.

            "You wanted to see me, master?" she asked.

            "Not quite, my dear." Essex touched the face on her choker. "Malice."

            Polaris' eyes went vacant, and Essex turned to look into the mirror. Instead of his reflection, he saw the woman in the choker.

            "I understand you couldn't resist taunting Xavier," he said, frowning to show his displeasure.

            "And what if I did?" the woman challenged.

            "That required you to exert more of your strength, and we both know it, Malice. You are the one that said Ms. Dane has a strong will, and as she is a fundamentally compassionate person, her horror at what she is doing may help her to overthrow your control."

            Malice laughed. "The brat is under my _complete_ control. You don't have to worry about dear, sweet Lorna waking up and buggering your finely honed plans."

            "I'd better not. If she ever does, what Xavier and Haller did to you will be nothing compared to what I will do to you."

            "Don't make promises you can't keep," Malice sneered, but not before her expression showed fear. Then, she vanished from the mirror, and Polaris snapped to attention.

            "Master?" she asked.

            "I merely wished to review the plan, so that if anything does go wrong, you will be able to better adjust for it."

***

            "So what did these attackers look like, anyway?" Scott asked Althea. It was the question that everybody wanted to ask.

            Althea gave a brief description of them, with the other Misfits and Willow adding in details.

            Unnoticed by all the others, Remy's face paled as she described the woman who made people dizzy, and got whiter with every following description.

            When Althea was finished, Remy got up and left the room. He was unnoticed by everybody except Rogue.

            "Remy? Remy what's wrong?" Rogue asked. Remy didn't stop. He didn't even hear her.

            "I need you to gather a group of people like us," a voice from long ago said in Remy's mind. "It will be a force like no other. It just might save the world."

            Remy stopped at the door to the study. He knocked on it.

***

            Essex headed to a special area of the headquarters. It was clearly marked off as being restricted to all but his beautifully wicked Polaris.

            He stopped in front of a cell door.

            "I don't suppose our attack succeeded?" he asked the occupant.

            "No, it didn't," a voice from inside replied. "The one he wants is still in the sewers, like I told you she is."

            "Oh well," Essex shrugged. "The Eloi are no great loss. I've wanted to deal with them for a long time. And now I've not only done so, but I've gotten my troops warmed up for the real battle to come."

            "You're so certain you will kill the chosen one?"

            "Of course."

            The prisoner laughed.

            "Poor Nathaniel," she taunted. "So sure of the conquest that you deny the chance of defeat. You're attack will not go unopposed."

            "Dear, dear Irene," Essex purred. "Not only do I know it, but I'm counting on it." He walked down the corridor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a war to plan."

            In the cell, Destiny smiled. The over-confident fool! The chances of him succeeding in killing one of the four chosen were slim indeed. But no matter the outcome, the attack would have ramifications which would affect the fate of all mutants. The many possible futures agreed on that much.

***

            "Oh my God," Lifeline breathed as Xavier finished his tale.

            "I remember that case," Cover Girl said. "I always thought it was some sort of cult. I remember that it just stopped, and now I know why. What happened to the kids?"  
  


            "I managed to have them released without any mention of the incidents on their permanent records," Xavier sighed. "I had to call in a lot of favours, but since I had connections in the justice system, I finally did it."

            "Well, it's not like they were going to do it again, the poor kids," Mrs. S frowned. "And your son? Is he still catatonic? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

            "No, he isn't- most of the time. When he isn't, he has the mind of a young child."

            "What about his mother?" Roadblock asked.

            "She takes care of him. You'll all be meeting them very soon."

            "You're gonna ask her to live here again?" Logan asked.

            "Under the circumstances, I doubt she'll say no," Xavier replied.

            "Indeed," the Blind Master agreed.

            "I would like to ask that this remains in this room. I don't want the students to know yet."

            Everybody agreed. He had every reason to want this kept secret, for now.

            "What will happen to this Polaris girl if we ever free her?" Hawk asked.

            "I'm afraid of what she'll be like," Xavier said, before being cut off by a knock at the door. Logan answered it.

            "Something wrong, bub?" he asked Gambit.

            "Yes, something is very wrong. Those people, the one's that attacked the Eloi… I know who they are. They call themselves the Marauders."

            "What?" More than one voice asked the question. Behind Gambit, Rogue gasped.

            "Come in, Gambit," the Professor said.

            "Stay outside, Stripes," Logan told Rogue.

            "_Non, she can come in if she likes- if it's alright with the Professor." Xavier nodded, and the two took two of the few remaining seats._

            "How do you know them, Remy?" Ororo asked.

            "Well, dat's the thing, Stormy. See, Remy used to be one of them."

**I wanted to end on a cliff-hanger. Did I succeed? The Malice story is coming later, but some of you may guess a bit of it. Let's just say that my version of David Haller is closer to the comics than to "Sins of the Son." What are the four chosen ones Destiny is talking about? Why does ****Essex**** want them dead? How did Remy once get mixed up with the Marauders? **

**The answer to the last question is coming up on "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Ten: Gambit's Tale**

**P.S.- the concept of brainstorming is not mine. It has been used in Ultimate X-Men.**


	11. Gambit's Tale

**Chapter Ten: Gambit's Tale**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.**

**RogueFanKC- Ultimate loss for ****Essex****? Maybe, maybe… As for the ultimate battle, it's going to be a while from now, but it is coming. Oh, yes it is…**

**L1701E- Sinister has his reasons. They will sort of align with his comics motivations, but this is my version of an Evolved Sinister. He's not quite the same guy he is in the comics (although he is heavily drawn from them).**

**Cammy- Thank you very much. I'm a comics fan myself, and I'm pretty certain that we won't ever see the massacre in an animated format. It's far too heavy for TV aimed at children- which most cartoons are. As for Illyana- her story is another thing that may never be covered on TV, but then again, if Wanda can be locked away in an asylum for years, then a trip to Limbo and a meeting with Belasco may be in the cards.**

            "WHAT?" Thorn yelled. Several people started barking questions.

            "Excuse me," Mole began. Nobody heard him.

            "Excuse me," he tried again. Still no response. This meeting was like a meeting back home- no time to get sentimental now, Mole old chap. He remembered how the Blob once got everybody's attention.

            "SHUT UP!" Mole screamed at the top of his lungs. Miraculously, everyone did. Mole winced. That hurt his throat.

            "Perhaps if we just let this young man tell us his story then we'll get all of our answers."

            "That sounds like a good idea," Hawk agreed. "Gambit, I want you to tell us everything you know about them."

            "How you got mixed up with them would be a good start," Xavier nodded.

            Gambit looked into his lap, and then looked back up.

            "Okay. Remy tell you everything."

***

            I left home when I was sixteen years old. I had my reasons, but let's just say that thievin' lost its thrill for Remy. I was on de streets of New Orleans for awhile, and then I got to wandering. I met him when he was bein' attacked- yes, I'm gonna explain who he is, jus' give me a minute.

            Anyway, he was being mugged. I don' know why I got involved, but I did. Only, it turned out that I didn't have to. The man, he was a shapeshifter- no, it wasn't Mystique. I've been saying 'him' the whole time, haven't I? And yes, I'm sure it wasn't really Mystique. I could be wrong, but if Gambit is wrong, then that was the most elaborate scam that he has ever seen.

            Anyway, after we drove the punks off, the man thanked me, and we got to talkin'. He was the first person I know that used the word mutant to describe me. All I knew was that I could make things explode, sometimes. He offered to teach me how to control my powers. I had no home, I kept blowin' things up, of course I said yes. He said his name was Essex, Nathaniel Essex.

            Anyway, after a while, Essex started talkin'. He said that a war was coming. I thought it was between mutants and humans but he said, no, it was between mutants, and it would decide the fate of our people. He said that there is a mutant, an ancient and powerful one that wants to set mutants at each others throats to see which ones are the most powerful. He said that this guy was locked away, but wouldn't stay that way forever, that he had devoted his life to stopping this mutant.

            Did I believe him? Yes, I did. Why wouldn't I? This man took me in, helped me control my powers. What else could I do but believe? And yes, I asked what I could do to help. That is where the Marauders began, wit' me an' him. He said that he wanted to assemble a group of mutants dedicated to watching out for this nutjob, and to stoppin' him when he showed his face. I said that I would be one, and not only did he agree, but he decided it was time to find others.

            We went all over trackin' them all down. The first one, believe it or not, was from Bayville. It was the man who was made outta glass. He called himself Prizm, and so did we. He said he had a fallin' out wit the group of mutants he was living with. They wanted to join a group of sewer people- who I later found out were the Morlocks- and he didn't want to live in a sewer. The second one was Scalphunter. Essex recruited him himself. Don't ask Remy how- all I know is that I wake up one morning and there he is, actin' like he's been there from the beginning. The first lady of the group was Vertigo- and she was a pain, actin' all high and mighty. She was on the run from the cops. I thought it was for stealing, but later I found out that she gets her kicks from using her powers on people in high place or near subways. She gets 'em dizzy, and makes them fall. One time, she decided to try pushing somebody over herself, and got caught.

            The others came in pretty quickly after that. Harpoon was brought in by Scalphunter, and Riptide and Arclight came in not long after, then Blockbuster, then Scrambler. Our little group was complete, Essex said. _Non, I do not know about the green-haired magnetic girl. She must have come in after I left._

            Why did I leave? Well, you Joes may remember this. There was a Gulf War veteran named Abraham Lincoln Kieros- yeah, I see some of you remember. For those that don't- he was the guy who made people believe in Gulf War syndrome when he went crazy and drove his car off the road. It was in the papers and the news for a while. No, he didn't try to commit suicide. His accident- that was the Marauders. Essex sent us after him as a test. See, he's a mutant. Essex said that the nutjob was very interested in this guy, and was gonna recruit him at any moment. We were sent to stop that. We followed him for a while, and then one night we ambushed him. He was drivin' along, and had to take another way to get where he was goin'. I, I uh, I caused a little rockslide on the road he wanted to take with a properly placed card. So, he goes on his detour, and he's all alone on the road. Vertigo used her powers on him, and I'm like, what are you doing? He could crash! And she says, I know. I cannot describe the tone she used, but it sent shiver down my spine, and not in the good way. Anyway, Prizm used his powers to blind the man. I thought it was meant to stop him, but it, it… it caused him to crash, just like he wanted it to.

            I'll never forget the way the car burned. I wanted to go check on the man, but the others wouldn't let me. I thought we were supposed to persuade the man to the right way of thinking, maybe get rough, not, not… I didn't know it would happen! You gotta believe me! Gambit is a thief, not an assassin! I did not know that they wanted to kill that man! But, knowing that he survived, and in what kind of condition… maybe it would have been better if he had died like they wanted him to.

            Anyway, when we got back, I was gonna complain, but Essex was all, oh well, these things happen. I couldn't believe it! The others started laughin' at me. They were like, what did you expect? We're here to kill people. Essex was pissed, but not because they misinterpreted his orders, but because they let me know. As you can imagine, I didn't stay with them much longer.

            After that, it's a bit predictable what happens, _non_? I am chased by them, and I find Magneto himself, and he takes me in. After Essex, Magneto was a relief. He is clear and obvious about what he wants, and he even tells you why he thinks he knows humans and mutants can't live together. I… it was only when he tried to kill Toad that I finally saw him for what he was.

            I'm not telling you everything? No, I'm not. The things I'm not saying have nothing to do with the Marauders, but with me.

            Why would they attack the Eloi? Hmm… that, I can't say. If Essex wasn't feeding me a line about why he's doing what he's doing, maybe he thought that the Eloi were working for the mystery mutant. I don't know what he thinks- I don't think I've ever known what he really thinks.

***

            Remy looked down into his lap again. Rogue was staring at him, mouth open.

            "For what it's worth, I believe you, son," Hawk said, placing a hand on Remy's shoulder. "You've been duped twice, but you've always been able to realize your mistakes, and you've always been able to leave."

            "Yes," Xavier agreed. "In fact, I'd say it's a mark of your character that you've been able to leave in those situations. Not many people would have the strength."

            "Thank you," Remy mumbled.

            "Well, if that's all you know, I think it best if you leave us to discuss this."

            "Wait, Professor," Hawk interjected. "Gambit, you spent a large chunk of time with the Marauders. You know their hideouts."

            Remy looked up. He looked fierce.

            "Just say the word, and I'll lead you to all of them. But I'm coming!"

            "Me too," Rogue said firmly, and took Remy's hand. "I haven't even met these guys, and Ah hate them already."

            "Count us in," Thorn growled, and the Outriders nodded.

            "There's no guarantee they haven't set up a hideout that you don't know about, Remy," Xavier reminded him (and everybody else), "but I agree with the General. This bears investigating. We just have to decide who goes and who stays in case there is an attack on the Institute."

            "Do you think that the Marauders will know where we are?" Mole asked him.

            "It's possible, and it's a possibility we can't ignore."

            "Agreed," Hawk said grimly.

            "What do we tell the X-Man and the Misfits?" Ororo asked.

            "Tell 'em the truth," Remy said. "It's easier that way."

            "Are you sure?"

            Remy looked at Rogue. She smiled, and took his hand. The message was clear. And as long as she was behind him, he could take anything. Remy smiled.

            "Yes, I'm sure."

***

            "What?" Scott exclaimed. "You mean you, all this time, you-"

            Remy looked him in the eye. "Don't t'ink I'm proud of it. I'm not."

            "And I thought we worked with the scum of the earth, yo," Todd said. "But you got us beat!"

            "Why didn't you say anything about these people?" Scott asked, ignoring Todd.

            "It never came up. Besides, how do you say, 'Excuse me my friends, but Remy used to work with psychopaths and murderers?'"

            "We already knew that you did when you came to us in the first place!"

            "I'll choose to believe you're talking about Pyro and Sabretooth," Wanda told Scott in a very dangerous voice.

            "If I'd known that this was gonna happen, I'd have said something," Remy said, half to himself.

            "Well you didn't, so it doesn't matter now," Althea told him. "The important thing is that you can lead us to them so we can kick their asses. RIGHT?"

            "Right!" Most of the teenagers and some of the adults agreed.

            "As much I agree with the sentiment, I think it best if not everybody goes along," Xavier interjected.

***

            After much arguing, it was decided that each team send a delegation for the 'search party.'

            The X-Men sent Gambit, Rogue, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine. After much more arguing, the Misfits settled on Wavedancer, Xi, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. Willow, Mrs. S, and Claw represented the Outriders. The New Mutants sent Cannonball and Magma along. Low Light, Roadblock, Cover Girl, and Spirit came on behalf of the Joes. Sean Cassidy came by himself. It was a very tight fit, but everybody got aboard.

            On the X-Jet, Xi grabbed Cassidy's bare arm. After a moment, he nodded.

            "Are you aware you can fly with your powers?" Xi asked.

            "Not all me youthful experimenting was with LSD and men, boyo," Cassidy laughed. "I tested out me powers, too."

            "You're a mutant?" Kitty asked.

            "That I am. I'm a screamer." Everybody but Xi shot Cassidy a blank look. "I can generate highly intense sonic waves, which I can use to shatter object, or, as Mr. Xi there said, fly. I'd give ye all a demonstration, but I'm told it's a mite painful in close quarters. Moira says I make Celine Dion sound like a bass, but she has a way of exaggerating everything."

            "What can you shatter?" Willow asked.

            "Oh, just about anythin', if I scream loud enough and long enough, that is. The only thing I haven't been able to break yet is adamantium, but everything else… of course, if I go at it for extended periods of time, I lose my voice."

            "I know you!" Amara suddenly exclaimed. "I remember you from Rahne's pictures. You're her, er…"

            "I'm her adopted mother's boyfriend, lass. There probably should be a term for somebody like that, but there isn't one yet. What does she say about me?"

            "Well, she said that you're the head of security at her mother's lab. You're also very handsome, you think you're much funnier than you really are, that you've got a great singing voice, that her mother is trying to get you to give up smoking, and that you're one of the kindest men she's ever met."

            "Really?" Cassidy blushed. "Remind me to ask Moira to raise her allowance, then."

            "How do you know the Professor?" Rogue asked.

            "I met him through Moira. And I met Moira shortly after I left Interpol."

            "You used to work for Interpol?" Althea asked, suddenly interested.

            "Aye. Why d'ye ask?"

            "Did you ever work with a spy organization called AUNTIE?"

            "Never mind," Kurt said quickly. He knew where this was going.

            "Aye, I have," Sean answered.

            "Ever work with an operative named Matthew Burke?" Althea went on.

            "Burke? Aye. A glory-grabbing dog, that one. He's almost as good as he thinks he is, I'll give him that much, but he's a right pain in the arse. He's the one that first called me Banshee- and the damn name stuck. Just because a man is bisexual is no reason to stick him with a woman's name!"

            "Okay, that's too much information," Pietro shuddered.

"You're right lad. But enough of that. How do you know him?"

            "Oh, he used to teach us," Althea said, innocently. "And he's Kurt's biological father."

            Sean looked at Kurt. "So _you're_ the son he's been saying he has. I can see the resemblance- more to your mother, though."

            "You know my mother?" Kurt asked.

            "Aye, unfortunately."

            "Did you have sex with her too?" Pietro asked, snickering.

            "Well… she was in disguise and I was pissed out o' me mind at the time."

            The Misfits burst out laughing.

***

            "Well, here we are," Remy said as the combined team crept up to an abandoned mansion outside of Biloxi. "Home sweet home."

            "This was the old base of operations?" Roadblock asked.

            "Oh, yeah. We stayed at a few places, but all the training facilities and everything else were here."

            "Mrs. S?"

            "I don't sense anybody," Mrs. S frowned. "Of course, since we know they have telepathic blockers implanted, that doesn't mean much."

            "I'll sweep the place." Pietro did it before anybody could say anything.

            "Nobody's home," he reported.

            "You idiot!" Althea hissed. "Going into a place when you don't you what's waiting for you is dangerous!"

            "It's what we always do!" Pietro whined.

            "Not when we can stake it out first!"

            "It could have been a trap," Cover Girl told him sharply. "They apparently have files on the Misfits, so they'd have to have them on the X-Men, too. They'd know that Gambit's with the X-Men, and that he'd lead us here when he found out who was behind the attack."

            "Oh. Right," Pietro said, sheepishly.

            "Idiot," Wanda muttered as she slapped him upside the head. "Think before you do something stupid like that!"

            "Sorry, I just, I-"

            "You want to get them. We know, Pietro."

            "We all want to get these guys," Kitty said.

            "Not like we do, Kit-Kat. You had to stitch people back together, but you didn't see the fighting."

            "And not like we do," Willow told him. "You saw the fighting, but you haven't lived with those people. They weren't your friends."

"Anyway, it looks like they changed HQ's," Claw grunted.

            "It's what I'd do if one of mine went rogue," Logan agreed.

            "Should we check it out anyway?" Kurt asked.

            "Yeah," Low Light said. "For all we know, they could be holed up in some kind of sub-basement."

            "I agree," Banshee nodded.

            "How vulnerable is Shadowcat to explosions?" Mrs. S asked Logan.

            "I don't know, but I don't want to risk anybody if I can avoid it."

            "Amen."

            "Hmm… Quicksilver didn't set off any sort of mines," Claw mused. "Maybe it would be safe for us to take a closer look."

            "I can, like, phase through the ground and see if there's any kind of basement, Wolverine."

            "Roadblock?"

            "Go ahead, Kitty. The rest of us will be here. If anything strange happens, hightail it back here pronto!"

            "Right." Kitty vanished into the ground. A few minutes later, she returned.

            "You guys gotta see this!"

            Everybody joined hands, and Kitty phased them through the ground.

            "If I never do this again, it'll be too soon!" Banshee thought. He wasn't claustrophobic, but the idea of going through solid ground? Ugh.

            They emerged in a room. It had a large computer system and a table in the very middle. The table had a large map on it. Logan looked at it.

            "I recognize that layout. It's the Bayville sewer system."

            Everybody froze for a moment. Then it hit them.

            "They're gonna go after the Morlocks!" Kitty shouted.

            "Time to go!" Roadblock called.

            In the scramble to get to Kitty, a very audible click was heard. The computer console activated.

            "Hello, X-Men, Misfits," Scalphunter drawled.

            "You son of a-" Low Light started.

            "If you've found this, then that rat LeBeau told you all about us. Hello, Remy. I know you're there because you're the type that would want revenge for a perceived slight. Honestly, I don't know why the X-Men let you on to their team, as you've already fled three different groups you once called kin."

            Remy stiffened, and began to mutter curses in French.

            "As I'm sure you've noticed, we plan to attack the Morlocks next. Not that you'll have any time to save them. Goodbye." He console turned off, and hidden vents opened, releasing yellow gas into the room.

            "Kitty, now would be a good time!" Spirit shouted.

            Kitty grabbed Sam and Mrs. S, and the others quickly formed around her, except for Kurt, who latched on to Althea and Sean and teleported out.

            Less than a minute later, all were outside the old mansion. Sam whistled.

            "Well, that was-"

            He was cut off by the mansion exploding.

            "Very mature, the need to be sure," Roadblock said to nobody in particular.

            "Uh huh," Pietro agreed.

            "Well, what are we all standing around here for?" Mrs. S demanded. "We have mutants to save!"

            The group raced to the X-Jet, and were soon breaking speed records to get back to Bayville.

***

            The Morlocks were sitting around the main chamber of the Alley. Nobody felt much like talking, not after finding Tommy that morning. She was the first Morlock to die, so nobody knew what to do with the body. Finally, at sunset, some of the Morlocks took her body to the park and buried it. The rest spent the time since then coming up to pay their last respects. Callisto ordered it to stop after a while- she said that the rest could say what they had to tomorrow, as she was afraid of somebody noticing groups of mutants all coming to the same place in the park within minutes of each other. Not many liked it, but Callisto was in charge. So the Morlocks sat, or lay on their pallets and cots in the Alley. None of them were sleeping- visions of Tommy's body kept flashing through their minds.

            Suddenly, Caliban jumped up.

            "Mutants are coming!" he hissed.

**Well, thus ends the story of how Gambit was a Marauder. I had to make his reasons for leaving different from the comics, for obvious reasons. Those of you who recognize the name of the victim will see where I'm heading with this (as far as motivations are concerned). For those that don't- wait and see… Anyway, next time, we find out what the others were doing while the search was happening.**

**Next time on "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Eleven: Arrival**


	12. Arrival

**Chapter Eleven: Arrival**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. The OC of Reader (and trust me I didn't go into this intending to bring an OC of any kind in) does belong to me.**

**L1701E- I've fixed my profile to accept anonymous reviews. Thanks for telling me that it didn't! I may be able to get the Starrs in, even if it's only just a mention of them.**

**Cammy- Re. Evan- It's not really a spoiler, because you find out where he is later in the chapter- he's still with the Morlocks. Will he live or die? You know I can't tell you that! Re. Sinister and the attack- which attack do you mean? The attack on Kieros, or the attack on the Eloi and the Morlocks? He has his motives for each. I can't tell you more than that, but if you're a comics fan, you can guess. Mine is one of the best stories you've found? Thank you! Thank you very much, and let me say that there are stories that are a lot better than mine.**

            "Wow," David Haller breathed as he saw the black jet speed away from the cliffs. "Didja see that, mama?"

            "Yes, David," Gabrielle replied. Charles called her a half hour ago, and she still felt like somebody pulled the rug out from under her. The nightmare was back.

            She was stopped by the closed gates. She rolled down her window, and pressed a button on the intercom.

            "Hello?" an unfamiliar and awfully young sounding, voice answered.

            "This is Gabrielle Haller. Charles is expecting me."

            "Yeah, he is. Come right in."

            The gates opened. Gabrielle drove up to the front doors, and parked.

            If David was awed by the jet, the mansion excited him even more.

            "It's so _big," he breathed._

            'And it'll be yours by right, one day,' Gabrielle thought as she went up to the door, which opened before she could knock. A young man with red sunglasses opened it.

            "Ms. Haller?" he asked. It was the voice on the intercom.

            "Please, call me Gabrielle. Judging by the sunglasses, you must be Scott."

            "That's right, Ms.- Gabrielle. The Professor's this way." He gestured for them to enter. Gabrielle did, but David stopped and looked at Scott.

            "Why are you wearing sunglasses?" David asked.

            "To help control my mutation," Scott said matter-of-factly.

            David's face scrunched up in confusion.

            "What's a mu-tash-ion?" he asked Scott.

            It was Scott's turn to look confused. Then, his expression changed, as if he was listening to someone else. Scott nodded. Gabrielle puckered her lips in displeasure. Apparently, Charles hadn't even seen fit to tell his students about David until now, and even then, he didn't tell them everything.

            "I'll tell you later," Scott smiled. "This way, Gabrielle."

            "I'll take it from here, Scott," Charles said as he entered the foyer. "Why don't you take David to the games room?"

            "Hi, Professor X!" David said happily.

            "Hello, David. I'll be right with you after I talk to your mother. Until then, be a good boy, and do what Scott tells you."

            "Okay," David replied.

            Xavier led Gabrielle to his study. Gabrielle tried something.

            *When do I get to find out what's going on?* she sent.

            *Good, you're still in practice. And, to answer, right now.*

            Charles opened the door, and they entered his study. He told Gabrielle of the day's events.

            "Oh, lord," Gabrielle breathed. "She never did anything that big before, but that's Malice's style. What are we going to do now?"

            "We've sent a team to do a search. It's doubtful they'll find anything, but we have to make an effort. In the meantime, I'll show you to your room if you like."

***

            It was quiet in the Danger Room. Most of the wounded Eloi were sleeping, and the rest were set up in spare rooms. The only people on duty were Ray, Lacey, Fred, Peter, and Lifeline.

            Ray was doing what he was told- monitoring everybody's heartbeat, listening to their breathing, changing the occasional bedpan (the most fun work in the world, that) and doing whatever Lifeline told him to.

            He looked down at an Eloi male about his age- short dark hair, some muscles, and a square jaw. He was closer to sturdy than handsome, but not ugly by any means. The guy took a few of Riptide's throwing stars to the chest. Poor guy- it was a wonder he survived.

            A lot bothered Ray about the attack. The Eloi were people living in peace. They didn't want to hurt anybody, just to be left alone. Not only that, but their attackers were mutants. It was ironic, in a way- they Eloi wanted to be left alone by humans, and it was their own kind that hurt them. Ray didn't know how many Eloi there were originally, but to hear the Misfits, the Joes, and the Outriders talk, the casualties were high.

            "Hello." Ray looked down- it was the man in the bed.

            "I don't think you should talk," Ray said quietly. He didn't want to wake anybody else up.

            "I got hurt in the chest, not the throat. What's your name?"

            "Ray. They call me Berzerker."

            "You're kinda young to be a Joe. Are you a new Misfit?"

            "I'm not a Misfit- and I couldn't have this 'do in the army. I'm an X-Man, kind of. They're calling us the New Mutants, until they think up something better."

            "Oh, you're with Xavier. We've heard of you guys. Is this the Institute?"

            "Yup."

            "Okay. Where are my manners? My mama named me Roland, but the Eloi call me Reader." He held up a hand. Ray shook it.

            "What can you do?" Ray asked.

            "This is gonna sound funny, but I see auras. It's sort of like empathy, but sometimes I can get a line on what somebody's thinking about. What about you?"

            "I'm electric."

            "So I shouldn't get wet with you?"

            Ray laughed. "No. I can control it- most of the time."

            "Most of the time?"

            "I kinda lose control when I'm mad, but I'm working on it."

            "Well, I won't get you mad, then." Roland blinked, and looked into Ray's eyes. A smile crossed his face. "I see you're like me."

            "Like what?"

            "You know."

            "Know what?"

            "You've heard the call of the bull."

            "The what?"

            "You're gay, like me."

            "_What?" That was loud. It didn't wake anybody up, but it earned him several glares. "No, I'm not!" Ray said in a quieter voice._

            "You're not?" Roland looked up at him in confusion. "I guess the painkillers must be messing with my powers. I'm sorry."

            "It's okay," Ray shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

            "Really?"

            "Yeah- I mean, if you're powers are getting screwed around, you could have seen me as liking- I dunno- the Discovery Channel or some boring crap like that."

            Ray talked with Reader for a little while longer before continuing with his rounds. After they were relieved by Hank and his helpers- Lance, Big Tom, Roberto, and Jean- Lacey came up to him.

            "Talking to Reader, huh?" she asked him. Ray nodded.

            "Yeah, so?"

            "He saw something you didn't like, huh?"

            "He saw- it don't matter 'cause he was wrong. The painkillers were screwing his powers around. He said so himself." Lacey shook her head.

            "I doubt it. Reader's been accurate under far heavier medication. And besides, I'm the one in charge of handing out pills. I had to give Reader another painkiller a little bit after your talk. The ones I gave him earlier had worn off." Ray looked at her, but didn't say anything. "Look, I know it's not my place to say this, but I think I know what he told you because I saw the way he was looking at you, and if I'm right, nobody's going to say anything about it here. You don't have anything to be afraid of." She clapped him on the shoulder, and went off. Ray stood in the corridor, lost in thought.

            'I'm not gay. I've had lots of girlfriends: Erica, Michelle, Sabrina, Lauren, Jill, Scaleface, Amara, Tabby… I'm not gay!'

            'It doesn't mean I'm gay if I suck at commitment,' his thoughts went on. 'And so what if I can also appreciate a guy? I like women. Women. So why do I keep looking for the one that will really turn me on when I find a great one?'

***

            Peter stooped over a counter in the kitchen, drinking coffee. He had a good night sleep, but the event of the day were tiring, and not just physically.

            Looking up, he saw Fred stumble in, heading for the refrigerator. It was a scene that had played out several times back at the Brotherhood House.

            Fred looked around for a moment, and settled on the makings of a sandwich. A hoagie which would have made Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show start one of those rambling, magnificent speeches about how big that sandwich was. Peter looked away, and the 'Minute Waltz' began playing in Peter's head. It played three times before Peter finally heard Fred take the first bite.

            "You've broken your record," Peter said.

            "Huh?" Fred asked, mouth full.

            "You've broken your old record." He turned to look at him. "You remember when Pyro gathered us all together to watch you make one of those- what did he call them?"

            "Blob Deluxes," Fred reminded him, and then took another bite. Fred remembered that. First it was Pyro, Pietro, and Todd, then Lance, then Remy and Peter. Fred would have chuckled as he remembered Wanda blasting her way into the kitchen to get herself a snack, but the last time he laughed while eating he almost choked. Eventually, even Wanda joined in the fun, joining in with the others in chanting 'chomp-chomp-chomp' when Pyro decided to time how long it took him to eat. It was just under thirty seconds, but Fred could have crammed it down if he wanted to. If he did, he wouldn't get as much flavour. The fun ended when Mystique barged in and start yelling at everybody. Ah, the bad old days. The Joes yell too, but only because they care (or in Beach Head's case, because he's an anal retentive jerk with a teddy-bear complex).

            "It used to take you four minutes," Peter said.

            "I've been working on it," Fred replied modestly. He knew he could make it even quicker, but food preparation is an art, something that requires respect and reverence. His grandma used to say that a lot. Everybody would come from miles around when she laid out one of her big spreads- Fred could never understand how there would always be more than enough for everybody, even though all those people just dropped in. Yessir, Grandma was still the most loved woman in the county- there was at least one attempt to break her out of the big house every year.

            "I see," Peter nodded.

            They were quiet for a while, Peter with his coffee and Fred with his hoagie.

            "How was it?" Peter asked when Fred was done. He wasn't talking about the hoagie, and they both knew it.

            "It was bad," Fred admitted. "When we got there, it was bad already. There were bodies all over, and people with missing limbs. I remember how proud I was that nobody got sick. I mean, I was raised on a farm, so I'm used to being around real dead things, but except for Xi the others-"

            "Think that beef and pork magically appear in supermarkets," Peter nodded.

            "Yeah! But, I guess there just wasn't time for that. The Marauders were still attacking, and we had to help stop them. There was Blockbuster- he's one real big guy, bigger than you, even- so I just charged him. When I first saw him, he was stepping on a little kid's chest. I never hated anybody so much in my entire life, not even Magneto or Mystique. They may have done stuff like that, but I've never actually seen them do it, y'know?"

            "I have an idea," Peter nodded grimly.

            "Well, all I know is, I want another shot at him." Fred's normally dark eyes were almost black.

            "Would you kill him?"

            "Yeah. Yeah I would." Fred said it with no hesitation. Peter remembered the body of the young girl, the one he buried first.

            "Good!" he said fiercely, and they locked eyes. An unspoken agreement was formed: if you can't, then I will.

***

            "This place is so _big_," David marvelled looking around as Scott showed him where his room would be. "How do you remember where everything is?"

            "Well, when you live someplace long enough, you get to know where everything is."

            "That makes sense," David nodded. Scott couldn't resist looking at him out of the corner of his eye. When the Professor told Jean and him that there would be some new guests staying at the mansion for awhile, Scott assumed that the 'young man' he mentioned wouldn't be any younger than Jamie. He turned out to be much younger in mind, but in body he had to be older than Scott himself, if only by a few years. But something was bothering him. Why did David look so familiar?

            He would never forget what it was like explaining mutations to David.

            "Oh, _that's why Professor X knows what everyone's thinking, he has a mu-tash-ion. Does everybody here have one?"_

            "Just about."

            It was weird, but it just proved how adaptive little kids really are. David, for all that he had to be 19 or 20, was a little kid.

            "Here we are," Scott said, opening the door and turning on the light. David's bag had already been brought to the room, and they would be going for more things in the morning. "Your mother is right across the hall, and if you need anything, Jean and I are right next door to you." Next door, on either side. The symbolism of putting a child between Scott and Jean wasn't lost on either of them.

            "Okay," David chirped, and opened his bag and pulled out an oversized shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Scott took the hint and stepped outside. When David re-emerged, he was dressed for bed.

            "Are you going to bed now?" Scott asked.

            "I dunno. Mama usually tells me when to go to bed."

            "Well, it's not that late, so why don't we go play some more video games?"

            "Okay," David smiled, and they headed back. Adult body or not, having a kid around wasn't so bad. Of course, Scott reflected, this was an unusually well behaved child, and he didn't have to raise him.

***

            Jinx, Ororo, and Shipwreck were in the Institute's communications centre. Comm duty was Ororo's duty, but Jinx had opted to stay with her- whether to wait for Logan or to prevent another murder was anybody's guess.

            Surprisingly, Shipwreck was a perfect gentleman. In all the time they had been there, he had yet to make a pass of any sort at Ororo. Of course, he had worries of his own.

            "What's taking them so long?" Shipwreck shouted.

            "They will contact us when they have found something," Ororo reminded him.

            "And when will that be?"

            "When they find something!" Ororo answered, eyes flashing. "Getting agitated won't do any good for anyone."

            "She's got a point, Shipwreck," Jinx added. "You'll only give yourself a coronary." It was times like this when Jinx could almost picture something developing between the two of them- when Shipwreck was honest, and Ororo not annoyed. That's how it was between her and Falcon. Of course, they eventually broke up… The moments seldom lasted- annoyance usually set in, or Shipwreck would try to get 'charming.'

            Shipwreck ignored her, although he did seem to calm down.

            "You send them out to fight all the time," Jinx went on. "You don't get this worried."

            "No, but that's different."

            "Fighting the Marauders is different from fighting Cobra or the Acolytes?" Ororo asked. From her tone, it seemed she genuinely wanted to know why he would think so.

            "Losing," Shipwreck said quietly.

            "Losing?"

            "Cobra. The Acolytes. We've fought them all, and they always lost. Yeah, okay, they usually lose at the eleventh hour, but they always lose. They can strike without warning, and they'll still lose. These guys, though- they won. They had to, because we sure as hell didn't. That scares me, okay? I've never sent my little girl against people that haven't lost."

            Ororo looked at him, then crossed the room and looked into his eyes.

            "Althea is perhaps the most competent teenager I have ever met. You have had her trained very well, and you've had the rest of the Misfits trained very well." Shipwreck smiled- not his usual self-assures smile, but one filled with bitterness and pride.

            "I know, but that's not enough. I need to be sure." He was silent for a moment. "Do you know how it started?"

            "Althea's training?'

            "Yeah, that. We all knew that people were gonna come for her, one way or another. The self-defense training- and that's what it was at first- was just to keep her safe, not to send her out to fight. Only, she was better at it than anybody guessed, and she loved it- really loved it!- so we- Mara and me- we let her learn the dangerous stuff. When I said yes back then, I didn't know she'd end up saving the world."

            "You're proud of her. And terrified for her. And you don't know which one is greater. The pride and the terror are so mixed up in your heart that when you're proud you're still worrying over what could have happened to her, and when you're terrified you're still far more proud of her than you can ever say."

            "Yeah," Shipwreck smiled. "That's it!"

            "It's the same way for me," Ororo admitted. "Only, as little as it may seem like it, most of my charges have a mother. I can't imagine what it must be like for you, being Althea's father, and being like a father to the rest of the other Misfits."

            "I dunno about that," Shipwreck disagreed. "Roadblock is Todd's father- I'm more of an uncle who's going to be a father-in-law. Lance is Spirit's- again with the uncle where I'm concerned. Xi has… something with Low Light. I think I can call Wanda and Pietro mine, although they're really close to Bree and Lifeline too. Fred belongs to all of us, in a weird way."

            "But you're close to all of them."

            "Yeah, like you're close to yours."

            "Hmm. You know, at first I disagreed with Charles over the entire idea of the X-Men. It's on thing for adults to choose that life, but children have the right to be children. The Institute should be for learning control, not for fighting others. However, I came to see that Charles was… well, if not right, than at least not wrong. Fearing what you can't understand is a human trait, and as much as everybody on both sides seems to forget it, we're all human, which is to say, profoundly flawed. The children need to learn how to defend themselves- unfortunately, with the world the way it is, that means that they need to learn to fight."

            "Exactly," Shipwreck nodded. "Exactly. But are we doing the right thing by sending them out into messes like these?"

            "I don't know," Ororo replied honestly. "But given their training, can we be surprised if they don't at least want to go?"

            Jinx began to feel extremely uncomfortable. The conversation was awfully personal. Still, if she had heard anyone telling her that the two of them spent this amount of time together without ending up in the sack or (far more likely) Ororo using Shipwreck's ass as a target, she wouldn't have believed it.

            "I guess not," Shipwreck agreed, and then he gave one of his 'charming' smiles.

            'Uh oh,' Jinx thought as she began a mental countdown.

            "This is something that we Joes should be handling ourselves," Shipwreck went on. "The Eloi are our friends, after all."

            "I think it concerns us as well, but I'll bite. Why aren't you?" To Jinx's eyes, Ororo was braced for some comment which would earn Shipwreck some more shock therapy.

            "Standing orders are to never leave the Pit unmanned unless it's the end of the world. Most of the Joes were on a mission today- for all I know, they still might be."

            "What's Cobra Commander up to now?"

            "Him- nothing. In fact," Shipwreck's eyes began to sparkle, "I think Bucket-Head and the Baroness have been kidnapped by the same guy that's got Flint and Lady Jaye. Again."

            "Huh?"

            "Have you ever heard of a guy called the Gamesmaster?"

            At Ororo's negative, he related the story of the Gamesmaster and how he abducted Flint, Lady Jaye, the Baroness, and Cobra Commander. Soon, all three of them were laughing- even though one of them was telling the story, and the other had heard it all before.

            "So now, whenever ol' CC is really obnoxious, Destro sells copies of the tape!" Shipwreck chortled.

            "Oh, no!" Ororo howled.

            "Oh, yes!" Jinx snickered. "Tommy still has a few from his days as a Cobra. That's how we all know it's true!"

            "We think that's how Cobra really keeps in the money," Shipwreck explained through his laughter. "Selling tapes of Helmet-Head in the swamp and of the High Command's Christmas Parties to all the people Chromedome's pissed off!"

            "Of course!" Ororo laughed. "That explains everything." The laughter eventually died down.

            "A bubblegum swamp," Ororo snickered, and the laughter began anew. Through the laughter, a chime went off from the communications centre.

"There's an incoming transmission from the X-Jet," Jinx said, checking it as she was the closest person.

            "Put it on the intercom," Ororo told her. "Logan, have you found anything?"

            "You could say that. Get everybody to suit up and meet us at the sewers- and I mean everybody. Their going to attack the Morlocks next."

            Storm's eyes widened. Evan!

***

            Ray shuddered as he led the very large group to the Alley. All the X-Men were with him, as were the elder Misfits and New Mutants. Jamie and the triplets were at the Institute, as were Xavier, the Hallers, Moira, a reluctant Banshee, and a light guard of Joes. The Outriders mostly also stayed behind- Thorn and Willow weren't able to do much without plant life around, Mrs. S couldn't affect the Marauders (if they beat them to the sewers) with her telepathy, Hound Dog and Hepcat were wounded, so that left Lacey, Big Tom, and Claw to go along. Low Light and Shipwreck were the only Joes which were along, as the team sent to deal with the Gamesmaster hadn't returned yet.

            What he was doing felt like betrayal, even though he knew it was necessary. Part of Ray never left the Alley, and the third major rule of being a Morlock, behind staying unknown and not having any contact with others, was "Never lead anybody to the Alley." It had been a while since Ray had been down in the sewers, but he remembered every tunnel as if he'd just left yesterday.

            "Well, if it isn't the prodigal, come home," a falsely sweet male voice came from just in front of him. Ray jumped. Oh, no! Of all the Morlocks, why did _he have to be the one to find them?_

            "Show yourself!" Scott and a number of others hissed. Ray rolled his eyes. Great- if they were undetected before, the Morlocks would come running now!

            A figure in a stained purple robe stepped out of the shadows. His face was a hideous ruin of warts and unnaturally grey-toned flesh. Ray heard several gasps from behind him, but he was used to looking at Masque.

            "We need to see Callisto," Ray said, managing to keep his voice even. Masque was the only Morlock that truly scared him, even though he wasn't as powerful as Ray.

            "And she wants to see you, so come on in," another voice came from way behind him. Ray almost slumped in relief, for the message as well as the speaker. It was Evan.

            A lot of the mutants turned to greet their own prodigal. Pietro smirked. He had several jabs prepared, each one nastier than the last. He forgot them all as he looked at his former nemesis. Daniels' body was now covered with spikes and bone plates. He barely looked human anymore.

            Evan saw Pietro's face, and he smiled. For the first time ever, he knew he managed to have the last word. It would have been nice to have had the first word too, but he'd take what he could get.

            "Evan," Ororo breathed, and went to him.

            "Hi, Auntie O," Evan said casually, before hugging her.

            "Well, as sickeningly sweet as this all is, I think it's time to get going," Masque hissed. Shipwreck shot him a look.

            "Hey, it's been a long time since they've seen each other. Give 'em a minute." Masque turned his glare to Shipwreck.

            "I have no time for the desires of a norm," Masque scowled.

            "A norm?"

            "A mutant that looks like a human," Ray explained. "It's an insult down here."

            "Really?" Shipwreck got into Masque's face. "And what do you call humans?"

            "Humans?" That caught Masque off guard. Ray moved in before Masque could explode- Shipwreck's face was in reach, and nobody knew what Masque could do!

            "Traitor!" Masque screamed, and slammed his palm against Ray's face. Ray felt piercing agony. He would have screamed, except he already had no mouth.

            "What are you doing to him?" Hank demanded. Sneering, Masque took his hand away. Ray was missing a mouth, and a nose, and was consequently struggling for breath.

            "Masque!" Evan broke away from Ororo and fired a flaming spike even as most of the others aimed at him. "Change him back, or the next one goes to your heart."

            "You wouldn't dare, boy."

            "Try me."

            Masque glared, but put a hand to Ray's face. He removed it after a moment, and Ray was back to normal, and taking deep breaths.

            "It is fortunate Callisto likes you, boy," Masque muttered to him.

            "No, it's fortunate I don't expel you for attacking guests," a new voice said from a tunnel. It was Callisto. "This way."

            The group followed Callisto through the last tunnel. They entered the Alley.

            Ray looked around, lost in memory. It had been a while since he'd been back- and longer since it was on good terms. Most of the Morlocks glared at him, but a few regarded him neutrally and a few even looked happy to see him.

            Ray noticed something. Everybody was in the main tunnel of the Alley. That never happened except on holidays. He took another look- Scaleface, Sunder, Plague, Piper, Healer, Torpor, Annalee, Feral… there were a few new faces, but all the people he knew were there, except for one.

            "Where's Tommy?" Ray asked. That got a reaction from all the Morlocks. Callisto stiffened, and looked at him.

            "That's right, you don't know. She's dead, Ray."

            "What?" Ray couldn't believe it. Tommy was dead?

            "We found her torn to pieces this morning," Evan muttered, and hit the wall of the tunnel.

            "We are sorry for your loss," Ororo said, stepping forward. "But I think we might know who did it."

            "What?" Callisto asked as all the Morlocks demanded to know who.

            "This morning, the Eloi were attacked by a group of mutants called the Marauders. They killed many of them, and wounded many more. We have reason to believe that they are coming here. We are here to escort you to the Xavier Institute for-"

            "Protection?" Masque scoffed. "Lies, all lies. First of all, nobody can find this place through all the defences and misdirection's we have laced the sewers with. The only reason you did is because of him." Masque pointed at Ray. "Second, why would we trust people who are known associates of the military, who brought somebody who claims to be human down into our sanctuary?"

            "First of all," Big Tom said as he stepped beside Ororo, "those 'traps and misdirection's' really aren't all that much to somebody who knows how to track. Second, yes, Shipwreck is human, and he is sorta with the navy, but he's a Joe. A lot of you have heard of GI Joe. They're not an ordinary unit. They don't hunt mutants, and won't stand for anybody that does."

            Lacey joined Tom, and Claw stood just behind them.

            "A lot of you know us from your visits to the Eloi," Lacey said. "You know us, and you know you can trust us. This isn't a trick. You're all in grave danger."

            "You say these Marauders are after us?" Callisto asked. Ororo and the Outriders nodded. "And they probably killed Tommy to get our location."

            "Not quite," a crystalline voice drawled. "We followed the paper brat back here, and we killed her, yes, but when we did we already knew the current location of you sewer people."

            "You!" Caliban hissed. Prizm was standing just outside a tunnel leading into the main chamber.

            "Prizm," Remy grunted.

            "Yes, me. It's been nice talking to you, but I really have to go." He began to glow with a blinding radiance. Several people shut their eyes, and many Morlocks cried out from the sudden light, but a sound could be heard through the commotion: a strange clicking, which changed position as if the source tossed it into the air.

            The explosion took the roof down.

*** 

            From the protection of his tunnel, Prizm could see the people mill around in confusion. The grenade was small, and designed to bring only a small part of the roof down, dividing the Morlocks into groups. Seeing as how the Joes' lackeys and Xavier's disciples crashed the party at the last minute, they were there too. Not together, though- each group had a mixture of surfacers and Morlocks. And three escaped Eloi, too.

            Prizm activated his comm link to the others.

            "We've got party crashers, but they're mixed in with the targets," Prizm reported.

            Scalphunter smiled on the other end.

            "Let the hunt begin," he ordered his teammates.

**Okay, here we are: the attack on the Morlocks is gonna begin! It isn't gonna be pretty. There are going to be character deaths on all sides, and there will be many people hurt. Let me repeat: it isn't going to be pretty. If you're still willing to go on, they stay tuned for the next instalment of "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Twelve: The Hunt Begins**


	13. The Hunt Begins

**Chapter Twelve: The Hunt Begins**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**RogueFanKC- Thank you! Re. Ray and Reader- I have no idea where I got that idea from- I knew I was going to have to do something with Ray, because this was the storyline that introduced the comic version. I'm glad you like it. Re. Stormwreck- when I read that section I knew you were going to like it. I think that Shipwreck tries far too hard to win Ororo's heart. She could love him- he is a good person, but she's reserved, and Shipwreck usually- not always, but usually- isn't. I'm not going to say anything about the chapter. And re. Pietro and Evan- it's possible, maybe even probable, the way things are going. And as for main characters getting killed- even though you didn't ask, I can't comment.**

**jckidsmart- Here you are! Enjoy!**

**Red Witch- Thank you! I'm glad you like it. More is coming!**

**L1701E- Thank you! I intend to keep it up! Hmm… Scotty getting shot in the butt? Might happen…**

**Cammy- The Pietro/Evan bit just came to me. If anything could shock Pietro, that's it. Yes, the massacre is about to begin… and it won't be pretty- although the good guys will get their licks in. ****Essex**'s motives? The main motive is different from the comics, but he does have another reason to attack- it isn't strong enough to be a motive- but I'll explain that. As I've said, I have no idea where the Ray idea came from. Oh- good luck with the test!****

**And in an unrelated note- who saw Ascension pt. 1 today? I did, and I thought it was awesome. There were plot twists and some very much unexpected events. There was one twist which would have royally ticked me off, but I remembered that this is a two-parter, and I expect an eleventh-hour change of mind, probably accompanied by a dramatic entrance and/or rescue. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.**

            "What the hell happened?" Big Tom shouted as Lacey and Claw helped him up.

            "We were attacked," Masque snarked. He then muttered something resembling 'bald simpleton.'

            "I gathered that," Tom shot back. He muttered something that sounded like 'obnoxious ass.'

            "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere!" Callisto snapped. "Both of you shut up!"

            They began to hear the sound of heavy breathing coming behind them. Turning, they saw it was Ororo, who was curled up and beginning to breathe very heavily.

            "Wonderful," Callisto muttered. A claustrophobic in her sewers. A powerful one, if half of Evan's stories could be believed. Of course, Evan had neglected to mention his all-powerful aunt's Achilles Heel. It was a miracle the woman lasted so long, but if she lost control now…

            Lacey also saw the signs. She went to Ororo and gave her a firm slap across the face.

            "Thank you," Ororo said, relieved. The pain brought her back into the present. "I needed that."

            "Don't mention it," Lacey shrugged.

            "I suppose you have a place to regroup in case of an attack?"

            "Yes," Callisto told her. "We have a safe chamber. It isn't very far from us where we are, but the others are going to have to do some wandering, if they're alive. I suggest we make for the safe haven, and then split up and follow the tunnels to find the others. We have to hurry because these 'Marauders' or whatever you called them are-"

            "Almost certainly waiting for any survivors to emerge," Claw finished. "It's what I'd do if I was going to attack a place like this."

            "Well, then let's go!" Ororo said a little impatiently, and as they started to leave, they heard some coughing behind them. Turning, they saw an old woman muttering to herself.

            "Plague," Masque muttered. "Of all the luck."

            "Come on, old duffer!" Callisto called. "We're in a hurry!"

            "I'm coming, I'm coming," Plague muttered, and stood up and started walking.

            "Can't she go any faster?" Ororo whispered to Masque.

            "Her? Hell, no. And we can't pick her up, either- we all have bare hands, and she can make anybody sick with just a touch. The only one that can touch her safely is our Healer, and he's not here."  
  


            "Then use this." Ororo took her cape off, and handed it to Big Tom, who got the hint. He went up to Plague, wrapped it around her, and picked her up. The group then sped off.

***

            "Hello! Hello!" Scott called, holding Jean in his arms.

            "They won't be able to hear you through the rock," Low Light told him before he yelled himself hoarse. Low Light looked over the people in his 'chamber.' In addition to a bunch of Morlocks, there were Fred, Pietro, Cyclops, Jean, Iceman, and Boom-Boom, and- oh joy- Jean was knocked out by a piece of falling debris. She didn't seem to be otherwise harmed, but there was no way to tell until she regained consciousness. Fortunately, she was the only casualty, and he meant to keep it that way.

            A very large male mutant made his way out of the crowd of Morlocks.

            "Somehow, I think you're in charge now," he told Low Light.

            "Looks that way," Low Light groaned. "They call me Low Light."

            "Yeah, I heard about you- you're the mutant Joe. The Eloi told me about you. They really are all dead, aren't they?"

            "Not all of them- but a lot of the survivors are wounded."

            "Damn. Let's try to keep that from happening again."

            "Amen."

            "Name's Sunder." They shook hands.

            "Where's the nearest way out, Sunder?"

            "There's a manhole not far from here, but we can't use it."

            "Blocked?"

            "No- we've got a safe place here in the sewers. It's not on any plans, and it's hard to find unless you know exactly where it is. We're supposed to go there if we're attacked."

            "We can't! We have to get out of here."

            "_You can't. We have to."_

            "I'm not gonna be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

            "Hey, I agree with you. But I also know that if there are any Morlock survivors, that's where they'll be heading."

            "You're sure?"

            "Positive."

            "Great," Low Light muttered. He weighed his options. He could just take the Misfits and the X-Men and go- GI Joe let people decide their own fate, whether or not their decisions were sane. But he also knew that the Marauders were on the prowl, and while the Morlocks would and could fight back, they'd stand a far better chance if they had help.

            "Get your people together," he told Sunder. "We're moving out! Lead the way, Sunder."

***

            "Uhh," was the first word Shipwreck said as his sight returned. His head hurt, and his vision was just coming into focus. What happened? They were in the sewers, they were telling the Morlocks about the Eloi, some ugly guy called them liars, there was a blinding light, and then the roof caved in! He sat straight up, and then regretted it.

            "Are you okay, Dad?" Althea asked him.

            "Other than the fact I that feel like I've been on a two-day bender, then yeah," he groaned as she helped him stand. Looking around, he saw Todd, Kurt, Peter, and Roberto, and a whole bunch of Morlocks.

            "Where's everybody else?" he asked.

            "If they're still alive, then they're on the other side of that," Althea pointed. She was indicating the debris which closed them in. "We've got a way out-" she pointed to a small tunnel, "but five gets you ten there'll be a welcoming committee on the other side. We've got two of the really strong X-Geeks with us, but we can't risk punching our way out, because we could bring the rest of the roof on our heads."

            "Why doesn't Kurt just teleport us out?"

            "Because he's lost, and he's gotta have at least some idea of where he's going."

            "Great," Shipwreck muttered sarcastically.

            "Isn't it just?"

            "Okay- that means that Shipwreck's gonna lead us all to safety! Follow me, everyone!" Shipwreck made for the tunnel.

            "Oh, no!" Althea went ahead of him. "I'll go first. I can check it out to see if it's safe."

            "And so can I," Kurt added. "I kinda blend vith the surroundings."

            "And I'm pretty sneaky too, yo," Todd chimed in.

            "Alright then," Shipwreck decided. "Althea-"

            "Attention!" Althea said, getting their attention. "Toad, Nightcrawler and I are gonna scout ahead. The rest of you, stay here until we come back or until some of the good guys show up." She turned and led Todd and Kurt into the tunnel.

Shipwreck watched her go. He wasn't sure which emotion was greater- pride or fear.

***

            "Are you sure that you cannot find anybody?" Xi asked Elisabeth.

            "Let me re-state that. It isn't that I can't find anybody. It's that I'm finding everyone all at once." Elisabeth rubbed her temples. "I can't discern who's who, or whether they're down here or up above us. I can't find Jean, which means she's either unconscious, or… and the Professor's out of my range. I don't suppose anybody has a cellular or some form of comm link?"

            "A cellphone down here?" a cat-woman laughed. "Yeah, let me pull it outta my Gucci purse."

            A tall man with a white beard touched the woman's shoulder, and she went silent. He caught Elisabeth's eye, and shook his head no.

            "I could try melting the rocks," Amara told them, "but if anybody's trying to dig through, I could hurt them."

            "And do we really want me blasting?" Remy asked, rhetorically. "Gambit may be able to do it carefully, but by the time I got through, we'd be better off taking our chances in the tunnels."

            "Oh my stars and garters," Hank moaned, holding his head. "What happened here?"

            "It's a long story, Mr. McCoy," Amara told him as she knelt beside him.

            "Amara? Why is there two of you?"

            "Oh, no!" Remy groaned. "He's got a concussion."

            "Well, that rock was even harder than Kitty's last batch of muffins," Amara reminded him.

            Xi looked Hank over.

            "He does seem to have a concussion," Xi said. "I don't suppose anybody has any medicine?"

            The old man touched Xi on the shoulder. Their skin touched through a rip in Xi's uniform. Xi nodded.

            "This man can heal people," Xi told the others.

            "We don't call him Healer because he breathes fire and shoots lightning outta his ass," the cat-lady snarked.

            "Aw, stop being catty, Feral," one of the other Morlocks groaned. "Now ain't the time."

            Feral raised a fist in the woman's direction. "How would you like me to scratch your eyes out?"

            "Thank you, sir," Hank said as Healer helped him up. "I feel much better."

            Healer smiled and nodded, and then pointed to the only unblocked exit.

            "Is there an exit there?" Hank asked.

            "We'll explain on the way," Remy said as they headed out.

***

            "Where's the next turnoff, ma'am?" Sam asked the elderly lady.

            "It's the tunnel after next, dear. We turn right."

            Sam and Wanda were leading a group of Morlock children to safety. With them was Annalee, an elderly Morlock woman who was in charge of their care. Sam held a child in his arms, one was riding on his shoulders, and a couple others were clinging to his belt. It was almost like caring for his younger siblings at home.

            Wanda was also loaded down with kids. It wasn't a bad feeling, but now was not the time for it.

            "We have to hurry up, kids," Wanda told them. "How do you know this safe place isn't on any charts?" she asked Annalee.

            "We made it ourselves, dear. That's how we know."

            "It must have taken a long time."

            "Oh, yes, it did, but we got it finished, and we hid it. Callisto makes us do drills every once in a while so that we all know how to get there. Of course, after being down here so long, we all know the sewers like the backs of our hands, but Callisto makes sure we know the route anyway."

            "She's just looking out for you."

            "Yes, dear, we know."

            Suddenly, Kitty phased through a wall in front of them.

            "Oh, I am, like, so glad I found you guys!" she exclaimed.

            "Kitty?" Sam asked. "Where is everybody?"

            "I don't know. I'm looking for everybody! So far you're the first people I've found."

            "Was anybody with you when the roof caved in?" Wanda asked.

            "Yeah! Mr. Logan, Lance, Rogue, Evan, Ray, and a whole bunch of Morlocks. Evan's leading them to some safe area, and Mr. Logan sent me out to find everybody else. Well, let's go!"

            Kitty grabbed two of the children, and soon the entire group was phasing through the walls.

            From a shadowy tunnel, Riptide spoke into his communicator.

            "Scrambler, the Witch and the Human Cannonball are heading your way, with an old broad, some brats, and the Pretty Kitty. I'm on my way." He grinned. "Save some for me."

***

            Scott, still holding on to Jean, was marching just behind Low Light and Sunder.

            "This way," Sunder grunted, pointing to a tunnel. Suddenly, a beam of light struck him in the hand.

            "Or not!" Sunder cried, hitting the deck to avoid more of Prizm's lasers. Low Light looked up and started firing back. Scott started firing his optic blasts at the source of the light.

            "Wait here!" Pietro called as he got up. He charged towards Prizm, dodging the lasers with ridiculous ease. Suddenly, he stopped. Looking down, he saw that he had walked into a trap- some form of glue was coating the sewer floor.

            "You didn't really think we'd do this without planning, did you?" Prizm smirked. He pointed a hand at Pietro, and fired. The laser was intercepted by a firecracker.

            "WOO HOO!" Tabitha cried. "Take this, diamond-boy!" She started firing more firecrackers, ignoring the shouted warnings behind her begging her to watch her aim. One of her firecrackers got through Prizm's lasers, and blew his hand off.

            "AHH!" he shrieked. "You will _pay_ for that!" he shouted as he fled.

            "Just give me a minute, Speedy," Tabitha smirked as she sent a time-bomb to Pietro's feet.

            "No, Tab-!" It exploded before even he could finish. Pietro winced, then found that his feet had been freed by the explosion.

            "Let me get the rest of that," Scott said wryly as he finished getting the rest of the glue off Pietro's feet.

            "Ooh," Jean moaned, getting to her feet from where Scott set her down. "What-"

            "Long story," Bobby told her.

            "Do we go after him?" Fred asked Low Light.

            "No, not now. Is there another way to your safe-house, Sunder?"

            "Yuh-huh. Follow me." Sunder led them down a different tunnel.

***

            "Did you hear that?" Amara asked Xi.  
  


            "It sounds as if some of the others have run into the Marauders," Xi concluded grimly.

            "Do we go help?" Elisabeth asked Hank.

            "No. They can handle it. Let's get to this safe place. _Then we can go out and search."_

            "At least we're not the only ones still alive," Remy muttered.

            "And how long that remains is anybody's guess!" Vertigo yelled from behind them. Instinctively, some of them whirled around.

            "Don't look at her!" Xi and Remy cried, but it was too late. Several of the Morlocks went down. Then they were covered in a strong-smelling fluid which fell from specially placed buckets.

            "NO!" Hank screamed as he leapt (eyes firmly shut) for Vertigo, but it was too late. A jet of flame set the gasoline on fire. The drenched Morlocks screamed in agony as they went up in flames. Elisabeth turned to look at the source of the fire. It was Scalphunter, holding a flame-throwing weapon.

            "We're havin' a heatwave, a tropical heatwave," Vertigo sang as she sprinted down another tunnel. Remy screamed in rage and followed after her. Looking at Scalphunter, Elisabeth saw him fleeing down a different tunnel, although the movement of the water suggested that somebody invisible was right on his heels.

            "Damn!" Hank shouted. "Help me over here!" The rest of the group- not many- went to help the burning Morlocks.

***

            Althea and Kurt scouted ahead while Shipwreck and Todd kept behind their group. Peter and Roberto kept square in the middle. Peter was in his armoured form, but Roberto wasn't in his flame-form yet- cut off from the sun, he needed to conserve his energy.

            All was quiet, and then-

            "Duck!" Althea yelled. Some of the group was slow to react, and some of them couldn't duck in time. They were hit by shrapnel that flew through the air. Some of them were durable enough that the shrapnel didn't hurt them, but most of them went down, wounded or dead.

            "Aww, you interrupted my shot," Polaris whined as she emerged from a side tunnel ahead of them. Althea and Kurt sprang for her, and Roberto got up and charged her. Shipwreck remembered what happened to Low Light, so he kept his gun hidden, Peter knew it would be stupid to go up against a magnetic opponent, and they both knew that they would still need a rear guard in case of a pincer attack.

            Polaris set up a magnetic field, which intercepted Todd's projectile slime.

            "Disgusting," she hissed, nose wrinkled.

            Kurt teleported behind her, and grabbed. He started teleporting her around the chamber.

            "How do you like this, murderess?" he screamed. The teleportation kept up for a while, until Kurt waited half a second too long between jumps. Polaris jabbed him in the stomach with a knife.

            "I live with Vertigo," she sniffed as Kurt went down. "Did you really think you could get me dizzy that easily? Arclight!"

            "It's about time!" Arclight shouted as she crashed through a wall. She began to pound the ground. The people still standing soon ended up on the ground- except for Todd, who was just barely managing to keep his balance by desperate jumping.

            "Harpoon!" Polaris called. Harpoon stepped out from the new tunnel Arclight created and began to throw his spears. He threw with unbelievable quickness, and with each spear he converted to energy, a Morlock died.

            One of the Morlocks crawled out of the line of fire and pulled a flute out of his clothing. He started playing. Within moments, both sides of the tunnel were filled with glowing red eyes.

            'Say hello to my little friends,' Piper thought savagely as he commanded the rats of the Bayville sewers to attack the Marauders. Harpoon- knowing the dangers of animal attack- wisely fled, but Polaris and Arclight started screaming. They soon followed Harpoon's example. Althea started after Polaris.

            "Al! Help me over here!" Todd cried. He was standing over Kurt. "How 'ya feelin', Fuzzy?"

            "Fine, except for the screaming agony," Kurt groaned.

            "Hang on, Kurt," Shipwreck said as he and Peter started checking out the rest of the wounded. "Althea! Try to get the knife out! If you do-"

            "Stop the bleeding! I know. Toddles, Sunspot, go help dad and Metal Muscles." Fortunately, Polaris left the hilt sticking out.

            "Don't worry, Kurt," Althea told him. "You're gonna see Amanda again. Clench your teeth now, 'cause this is gonna hurt." She took the knife out. Kurt hissed. Althea pressed her hands down on the wound to stop the bleeding.

            "Go on," Kurt grunted. "I can hold it from here. Go help the others."

***

            "It's not much past this chamber, dear," Annalee told Logan as they made their way to the Morlock sanctuary.

            "Does she call everybody dear?" Sam whispered to Evan.

            "Just the people younger than her," Evan smiled.

            "But Wolverine's not-"

            "You know it, and I know it, but she doesn't."

            "Are you ever come back to live with us, Ray?" one of Annalee's charges asked Ray.

            "I don't know. I might someday, but not right now."

            "It's scary on the surface."

            Ray smiled bitterly. It was no wonder she'd think so. The young girl in his arms resembled a miniature version of a female Evan, with pinkish hair and skin and little bone spikes coming out of her.

            "Not if you know good people, Sarah."

            "Masque says there aren't any good people on the surface," Sarah reminded him.

            "Masque doesn't trust anybody," Ray pointed out.

            "Berzerker," Caliban drawled from just behind him, "I want to ask you a question."

            "Yeah?"

            "The brown haired girl- the one who can walk through walls- is she single?"

            "Oh, no," Ray groaned. That was all the X-Men needed- another contestant in the game of Win Kitty's Heart.

            "Watch your steps, dears," Annalee called from ahead of them. "It's a bit of a drop!"

            The mutants emerged from the small tunnel into a larger chamber. Logan began to sniff.

            "Look out!" he shouted. Sabretooth jumped down from up above, and nearly landed on Logan.

            "You're late, Runt," Sabretooth grinned. The two immediately went at it.

            "Back into the tunnel!" Wanda yelled. As she headed for it, she felt a brush on her cheek, and her growing hex field suddenly died.

            "Hello," Scrambler smiled as he quickly tapped Sam on the forehead.

            Blockbuster jumped down from the ceiling, but before he hit ground, Rogue flew up and punched him through a wall.

            "Well you can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man, no time for talk," Riptide sang as he shot his stars out.

            "Oh no you don't," Lance snarled, but before he could rock Riptide's world, he felt a hand brush the back of his neck, and the growing tremors died.

            "Somebody put the kibosh on Scrambler!" Sam yelled.

            "Kibosh?" Scrambler asked, artfully dodging many blows sent his way. "Who says 'kibosh' anymore?"

            Rogue saw him, and removed her gloves. One touch, and she would take out Scrambler, get his powers, and- God willing- at least get an idea of where the Marauders were holed up at.

            Looking up, Scrambler saw the Skunk dive for him, gloves off. He smirked. With the possible exception of the Witch, she was the most dangerous of them all. Well, one touch would take care of that. He jumped, and grabbed the Rogue's hand.

            They were repelled from each other with a flash of light.

            "Oww," Rogue groaned, rubbing her injured hand.

            "Ugh," Scrambler groaned, rubbing his injured hand.

            Their powers cancelled each other out, it seemed. As Rogue had to dodge some stones Blockbuster started lobbing at her, Scrambler noticed the Pretty Kitty, all unaware. He began to sneak up on her.

            "Kitty!" Lance yelled in alarm.

            Kitty saw Scrambler leaping for her, and instinctively phased. Scrambler crashed into the wall behind her, knocking himself out.

            Sam, managing to dodge Riptide's throwing stars, picked grabbed Scrambler and took him out of the chamber, hoping to remove him from the fight.

            He soon encountered Scalphunter, carrying Xi's unconscious body in one hand and a gun in the other.

            BAM!

            As the bullet entered his heart, one last thought went through Sam's mind:

            "But… Ah didn't even get a chance ta say goodbye."

**Who do you hate more, the Marauders or me? No, the battle's not over yet. It's only just beginning, and the body count is going to rise. Where are Ororo, the Outriders, and Callisto during all this? When are the rest of our heroes and villains gonna join the fracas? When will somebody punish the Marauders? Find the answers to some of these questions next time on "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Thirteen: Round One**


	14. Round One

**Chapter Thirteen: Round One**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**RogueFanKC- I agree. They can't take the Horsemen, but they can provide an effective distraction until the mutants that can take the Horsemen are able to do so. Yes, yay to Tabby. Marauders strung up with heads on a stake? Not quite, but they will get what's coming to them (and about Kitty's driving- one of them will be subjected to the one thing worse than her driving, and that's all I'll say about that).**

**L1701E- Yes, that would make a great sequel.**

**Cammy- Don't worry, the Marauders sill start getting theirs pretty soon. And, yes, poor Tabby, and poor Person-That-Tells-Sam's-Family. I know who it's going to be, but I can't say right now. A test that's worth 60% of your grade? That's horrible! Let me repeat: good luck!**

**Red Witch- Don't worry about Xi. He's fine.__**

            "Ugh," Scrambler moaned, shaking his head. "How-" He saw the Human Cannonball's body beside him.

            "You have to be more careful," Scalphunter told him.

            "Is it dead?" Scrambler asked, indicating Xi.

            "This one?" Scalphunter raised Xi. "No- out cold. Got him with my gas gun. It's gonna be a little thank-you present for the boss. He's always saying he wants to study Mindbender's work- now he's got a living specimen."

            Scrambler started snickering.

            "You go that way," Scalphunter pointed. "A fight this loud is going to attract attention. Deal with it."

            Scrambler followed orders, and Scalphunter went the other way, hoping to snipe some unsuspecting prey.

***

            "Damn!" Callisto hissed. "That's fighting, or I've gone deaf! The Marauders have been engaged!"

            "Well, what are we waiting for?" Ororo demanded. "Let's go!"

***

            "This way, children, hurry now," Annalee encouraged her charges. "We're almost there."

            In the chaos of the fight, Annalee managed to round up her charges and herd them toward the sanctuary. There were others of her children still scattered throughout the sewer, but Annalee would be looking for them later. The important thing was to get the ones she had right now to safety.

            "And yet, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades," a drawling voice said from just ahead of her. A man dressed in a strange metallic outfit and holding a gun stepped into the light. She didn't recognize him.

            "RUN CHILDREN!" Annalee screamed. She could hear the children do as they were told. The man raised his gun, and fired several shots. Annalee closed her eyes, but felt no pain. Opening her eyes, she could see the man grinning viciously. Annalee turned around.

            Her scream echoed through the sewers.

            "WHY? WHY DID YOU MURDER MY CHILDREN?" she sobbed. She looked straight into the man's eyes, and used her powers of persuasion on him. This murderer would shoot himself in remorse! When he didn't even seem to be affected, Annalee knew that this one was somehow protected.

            "Nothing personal," Scalphunter shrugged as he filled the old woman with bullets. "Just business." Hearing distant footsteps, he quickly left that portion of the tunnel.

***

            "NO!" Callisto screamed as she saw the dead body of Annalee and the children. Ororo's eyes widened in horror. Even Masque looked a bit sickened.

            "Why," Plague moaned. "Why?"

            "I don't think there is a reason," Masque said quietly.

            "Yes, there is," Ororo told him. "The Eloi, the Morlocks- somebody wants you dead for a reason. At last count, there are ten Marauders."

            "We only need one alive!" Callisto hissed, understanding the meaning.

            "But not the girl, not Polaris," Ororo told her. "She is under the domination of an astral being named Malice. We must take her alive, so that we may free her. We should also take another one, just to be sure. The rest are fair game."

            "Amen," Big Tom said with much feeling.

            It was then they heard the sound of crying. Callisto stood up, and went to the bodies of the children.

            "It's all right," Callisto said quietly. "Friends are here." The pile of bodies moved, and Sarah sat up, unharmed. Tears were pouring down her face.

            "A man came," the girl sobbed. "He started shooting everybody. I played dead."

            Callisto picked her up and held her in a tight embrace. She turned to Masque, and held Sarah out. Masque took her.

            "Masque, take her to the sanctuary, and hide."

            Masque nodded, and left.

            "Let's go," Callisto growled, and led the charge.

***

            "Sounds like things are really going down," Low Light said as he heard the sounds of fighting. "Iceman, Boom-Boom, I need you to escort the wounded and the kids to the Morlock safe-house. The rest of you, follow me."

            "Follow us," Bobby said as he led his group down the tunnels. A few uninjured Morlocks went along to help with the wounded.

            "Why should we follow you when you don't know where it is?" one of the unhurt Morlocks, a young woman asked him.

            "Oh, yeah."

            "That's Frosty for you," Tabitha snorted. "He can't lead anybody."  
  


            "Hey!"

            "Why don't you show us where your hideout is?" Tabby asked the young woman, ignoring Bobby completely.

            "Sure, whatever." She went to the head of the group, and started marching.

            "Uh, what's your name?" Bobby asked her.

            "Down here, they call me Scaleface. Don't you dare say anything about it!"

            "No way! It's, uh, it's a nice name, right Tabby?"

            Tabitha rolled her eyes. Frosty had absolutely no idea how to deal with people like the Morlocks.

            "So how far to the hideout?" Tabby asked.

            "It ain't far, but we should go slow, in case there's trouble."

            "Gotcha."

            The group moved on in silence. Bobby was banished to the back of the group to act as rear-guard.

            "You've never heard of me, have you?" Scaleface asked Tabitha, very quietly.

            "Why would I have?"

            "I thought my scum sucking ex might have mentioned me. Guess not."

            "Your ex?" Tabby thought for a moment. "Ray?"

            "Yeah, Berzerker. Guess he forgot all about me when he joined you people. Oh, not that he forgot me when he needed me to free him when he came down here. 'Please, Scaleface, you gotta let me out!' No hi, baby, I really missed you. Not much of a thank you for risking your neck, either. And forget a goodbye!"

            "Really?" Tabby asked, very interested. It didn't matter much now that she was with her sexy Sam, but at one time she was very attracted to Ray.

            "I am so glad I got over that jerk," Scaleface went on. It was clear she'd had this on her chest for a _very_ long time. "Even when we were together, his eyes went all over the place- more than normal for a guy, I mean! It was like he was looking for someone to turn him on, y'know?"

            "He still does that," Tabby told her.

            "Why am I not surprised?" Scaleface muttered. "I really cared for that jackass, you know? I really did! Okay, maybe I could have told him how I really felt, but he never said it either!"

            Soon after, they reached the sanctuary. It was empty, except for Masque and a little Morlock girl.

            "Well, that's everybody," Bobby said as the last of the wounded were loaded down. "The rest of you, stay here."

            "They can stay," Scaleface hissed. "I'm coming with you."

            "You? But-"

            "This is _my home, sonny boy. Those are __my people being threatened. Besides, I have a few words I'm dying to say to my ex, so get your frostbitten ass in gear!"_

            "I-"

            "Just smile and nod, Frosty," Tabby smirked.

            Soon after, the trio was racing to the sound of the fight.

            "Not far now," Scaleface told them. "I even know where it's going down. It's-"

            She was interrupted by iron spikes which pierced her stomach and chest. She went down with a sigh. Bobby and Tabby stopped, eyes wide with shock. A green haired teenager appeared out of the gloom.

            "You're that Polaris chick!" Bobby shouted as he iced up. Tabby began to make the mother of all time-bombs.

            "Hold it, kiddies," she purred. "I just want to talk."

            "We have nothing to say to you except 'surrender!'" Bobby shouted.

            "Oh brother," Tabby muttered. Frosty practically struck a pose when he said it.

            "Not even if it concerns my bald cripple of a father?" Polaris asked sweetly.

            "YOUR WHAT?" the two New Mutants asked in disbelief.

            "Too bad," Polaris said as she turned and left. "And I was so hoping to talk."

            "She doesn't mean-" Tabby started.

            "I don't know, but it doesn't matter! Let's go!" Bobby continued on.

            "I'll tell Ray for you," Tabby told Scaleface's body sadly, as she raced to join him.

            In her hiding spot, Malice smirked. It was draining to directly control Lorna, and she had already done it twice in less than 24 hours, but it was worth it. One of those two would open their mouths eventually, and Xavier would be forced to tell them the truth about her. It would have been easier just to kill Xavier, but Malice never went for the kill when she could go for the pain first. Malice retreated back into the depths of Polaris' mind, and Polaris made for the battle sounds. Those louts had better save a few for her!

***

            CRASH!

            "Is everybody okay?" Low Light asked his team. A large… something had crashed out of a tunnel wall and flew right into another one.

            "I think so," Fred replied, but there came sudden movement from the pile of bricks created by the something which crashed. Blockbuster stood up.

            "Hello," he grinned. Low Light and Scott started shooting. Neither the gun nor the optic blasts did much damage. Pietro was about to try punching him at superspeed, but he felt a brush at the back of his neck, and he felt his speed die. Scrambler.

            "Watch out!" Pietro yelled, but it was too late. Scrambler managed to touch Jean, Low Light, and Sunder before backflipping back where he came from.

            "AGH!" Sunder yelled as Blockbuster's punch knocked him into the chamber where the battle was raging.

            "Let me handle him!" Fred shouted. "The rest of you stop the others!"

            "You heard the man!" Low Light called. "Good luck, kid."

            "I beat you before, fat man," Blockbuster sneered.

            "You ran, bastard," Fred snarled. "We didn't get a chance to finish it."

            "Well let's finish it now!" Blockbuster roared as he and Fred went at it. Blockbuster launched a fight at Fred's solar plexus. Fred barely dodged, and shot off a blow to Blockbuster's jaw, which Blockbuster neatly sidestepped.

            As the fight went on, the victor became clear. The two were near equals in strength, but Blockbuster's slightly greater agility and much greater experience caused him to dominate Fred. Fred got a few good blows in, but he knew he was done for. The best thing he could do would be to pin Blockbuster down for as long as possible.

            Then, the impossible happened. Blockbuster missed. Fred jumped off of the walkway just as Blockbuster was launching a fist to Fred's jaw. The blow missed Fred's head be a scant few inches. Blockbuster blinked in shock, but Fred saw his opportunity and took it, because he knew he wouldn't get another. He punched Blockbuster in the nuts. Blockbuster roared, and went down. Fred began raining blows down on Blockbuster's unprotected back.

            "DO YA LIKE THAT?" Fred screamed. "IS IT FUN, LIKE KILLING ALL THOSE PEOPLE WAS FUN? HUH? ANSWER ME!"

            Fred jumped back up on the walkway. With one hand, he picked Blockbuster up and slammed him against the wall. He began to beat him with the other. Fred lost all sense of time. There was just his enemy, and the need to stop him. There was a loud crunch after Fred dealt Blockbuster a blow to the neck, but Fred kept hammering him, only vaguely aware that his opponent was dead.

***

            "Don't scare me like that!" Althea and Elisabeth yelled at each other. Their groups met up in the tunnels. Elisabeth and Althea almost literally ran into each other.

            Healer was doing what he could for the shrapnel victims, but his powers were drained in helping the burn victims. He didn't save nearly as many as of the immolated Morlocks as he'd hoped to- another sign of old age. The severity of the shrapnel wounds was taxing his powers to the limit. He knew he couldn't help the blue boy with the knife wound- he could wait for now.

            Kurt groaned. Shipwreck was helping him walk.

            "Are ve there yet?" he asked jokingly.

            "Don't make me pull over," Shipwreck mock threatened. He was worried- the kid's voice was starting to get weaker. In spite of what the movies said, knife wounds to the stomach weren't instantly fatal, and the fact that he received instant first aid helped his chances of pulling through a lot, but the fact was plain- the injured that Healer couldn't help had to get to a doctor ASAP.

            "We had a run-in with Scalphunter and Vertigo," Amara told Roberto. "You?"

            "Arclight, Harpoon, and Polaris," he answered.

            "We lost two of ours," Hank, helping two young burn victims, said to Shipwreck. "Remy and Xi went after Vertigo and Scalphunter."

            "Xi can take care of himself," Shipwreck said confidently. "I just hope Remy's major hate-on doesn't get him killed."

            "There's fighting up ahead," Peter said as he came back. "Most of the others are holed up in a large chamber, fighting the Marauders."

            "Al?" Todd said.

            "Right, Toddles!" Althea said fiercely. "It's asskicking time!" She, Todd, Peter, Amara, and Roberto went ahead. As they turned the corner which would take them to the chamber, spikes flew out of the air. They managed to dodge them in time.

            "Stay away from the tunnel!" Roberto called out to the larger group.

            "Mama, just killed a man," Riptide sang. "Put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger, now he's dead."

            Peter, still armoured, stood up, and walked straight into the maelstrom of throwing stars. He could feel them scratching him, and the ones which hit him dead on stuck in him, but he kept going. Riptide kept singing, but he was obviously growing nervous. Riptide began to throw the stars even faster. The pain was increasing, but he didn't care. The turbulence from the wind was slowing him down more than the pain.

            By the time he was within arms reach, Riptide was spinning so quickly he could barely be seen. Peter roared, and extended an arm. He felt flesh, and grabbed it. The spinning stopped, and the stars did as well.

            Todd looked up and gasped. Peter was holding Riptide in one hand. Riptide's head was 180 degrees to the rest of his body. Peter dropped the body, and spat on it.

            "Let's go," he called. He dropped the body, and stepped on the neck, which made a further satisfying crunch under his heel. Todd felt like he was going to be sick. He didn't know that Metal Muscles was capable of something like that. He looked up at Althea. Althea looked a little green, but her expression was filled with grim approval.

***

            Riptide's stars may have been gone from the main chamber, but they were soon replaced by Prizm's beams. Low Light, Cyclops, Spyke, and Berzerker were firing on him, but his lasers intercepted their shots. The ones that did get through were mostly ineffective.

            "When I get my hands on that little bomber-bitch, I'll make her pay for every finger she cost me- and my thumb!" he screamed in a towering rage.

            "Aww, what's-a-matter," Pietro called from a protected spot. "Are ya gonna have to start using your other hand for pleasure now?"

            "Cut it out, Pietro!" Lance, right next to Pietro, called out. "It's obvious _that got blown off a while back, too!" They high-fived._

            "SHUT UP!" Prizm screamed, and redoubled his shots.

            From a hidden vantage point, Harpoon watched the battle. Some Morlock corpses were on the floor, but his teammates were being distracted by the party crashers. Scrambler- who had neutralized Storm and Big Tom when they, Callisto and the other Outriders had arrived- was sneak attacking the vulnerable, Sabretooth was wrestling with the Wolverine, and Scalphunter was firing shots. He didn't know where Arclight, Polaris, Vertigo, Blockbuster or Riptide were. He decided it was time for him to enter the fray. He saw the Shadowcat girl sneaking up on Prizm. She would be his first target. He aimed, charged his spear, and threw.

            Kitty crept up behind Prizm. She was gonna phase the, the… she couldn't think of a name bad enough… right through the wall. Just as she neared him, her body exploded in pain, and she screamed.

            "Kitty!" Lance screamed, but Pietro pulled him down before he could be clearly seen.

            "Kitty!" Peter screamed, and made for her. Harpoon frowned. Oh, no he wouldn't! As always, his spear hit true. Colossus was hit, and he dropped. Harpoon didn't know whether he was alive or dead.

***

            Vertigo stuck to the walls, for fear of attracting attention. She had set herself up in a tunnel adjacent to the chamber. A few Morlocks managed to make it out of the line of fire, but many of them went her way, and she had picked up several guns after she ditched Remy. Between her powers and her guns, no Morlock that came her way survived.

***

            Arclight watched the scene with a smirk. The Beast and one of the Joes- the father of Wavedancer and Trinity- were guarding the wounded. Well, she knew how to put a stop to that. Gently, she hit the wall of the tunnel, and caused it to collapse. Several of the targets were hit by the falling masonry, including the Joe, who was also holding Nightcrawler. Arclight watched the new commotion for a moment before joining the greater battle. When she entered the chamber, she made sure that her fists and arms were covered, and she snuck up on the Rogue. She knocked the girl into a wall, creating yet another hole.

***

            Remy was cursing. How could he have lost that murderous, self-absorbed beast?

            For the past few minutes, he followed the sound of fighting. It was hard to track, but eventually Remy got near to its source. As he made his way, he noticed something odd: a seemingly random brick pile created by a new hole in the wall. Remy didn't know why it bothered him, but it did. He took a moment to move the bricks. There was definitely something wrong- moving the bricks shouldn't have been that easy. Moments later, he found the tied up form of Xi. Remy started freeing the other mutant.

            "Thank you," Xi grunted. "Scalphunter gassed me. I think he was going to take me back with him to their headquarters."

            "Well, Essex does think he is a scientist," Remy told him. They both knew what would have happened if Scalphunter made off with Xi- medical experiments, followed by eventual dissection. "Are you up to kicking some ass?"

            "Oh yes," Xi hissed, flashing his claws. "Let's go."

            They followed the tunnel, and came out behind the screaming Prizm. They also noticed Kitty, who was unconscious behind him. They locked eyes, looked back at Prizm, and then nodded to each other.

            Remy charged a card, and threw it at Prizm's feet. The explosion shattered his legs and some of his torso. Before the pieces could fall to the floor, Xi rushed in and kicked it towards the opposite wall with all of his strength. The rest of the torso, and the head, shattered. Some of the witnesses began to cheer.

***

            From her vantage point, Polaris pursed her lips in dismay. She had found the bodies of Blockbuster- still being pounded by the Blob- and Riptide. Now, Prizm was dead. She had a lot of fight left in her, but the Master's orders were clear- if three or more Marauders die, it's time to retreat.

            "Marauders," she said into her comm link. "Blockbuster and Riptide are down, too. Time to leave."

            "Damn," Vertigo groaned as she crept out of her tunnel and headed for the rendezvous point. She was quickly joined by the acrobatic Scrambler.

            Harpoon said nothing as he crept away. He wondered which ones took down Blockbuster. Judging from the Russian having Riptide's stars embedded in him, he had to be the one who killed Riptide.

            "This ain't over, runt!" Sabretooth called as he made his escape.

            "You got that right, bub," Logan growled as he chased after his nemesis.

            Arclight cursed, and made her way for the nearest escape tunnel before the targets realized what was going on. Scalphunter covered her escape before making his own.

***

            "Wounded!" Ororo called as she realised that the Marauders were retreating. "Tend the wounded!" There were a lot of them.

            "This cannot be happening," Callisto muttered as she tended her people. "It just cannot be happening."

            "Storm!" Gambit called. "We have a problem over here."

            Storm went over to where Remy and Xi were kneeling over Kitty.

            "What's wrong?" she asked. Kitty was breathing, and Ororo couldn't see any external wounds."

            "This," Xi said. He waved his hands through Kitty. Ororo's eyes widened in horror. Kitty was unconscious, but still phased.

            "Kitty!" Lance yelled as he ran to join them. "What's wrong with her?"

            "Does anybody know how to listen to Metal Muscles here?" Pietro called out. Elisabeth went to join her boyfriend. "I don't know if he's breathing." Elisabeth frowned.

            "If I remember correctly, he should revert to normal if he's somehow knocked out."

            "Then he's dead?"

            "Let's find out." She placed her hands on his head. She didn't know how to sift through a lot of minds yet, but she did know how to find just one.

            "He's alive!" Elisabeth exclaimed. "He's in great pain, and he can't move!"

            "I can take him," Fred said from behind them. They turned, and gasped. Fred was covered in blood.

            "It's not mine," Fred told them. He had a strange look in his eyes. "Well, most of it ain't." He picked Peter up, and took him to the developing triage area.

            Scott and Jean walked up to them. They looked a little green.

            "What happened?" Elisabeth asked him.

            "Blob came in from over there," Scott said, indicating a side tunnel. "We found Blockbuster in there. He was beaten to a pulp, and I mean that literally."

            "Yeah, well, Riptide's over there," Althea said as she and Amara joined the group. "Peter broke his neck. That's two down, and Prizm makes three."

            "That's not enough!" Jean savagely exclaimed, and Althea nodded.

            "You got that right, Red."

            "I need some help!" Hank yelled as he entered the chamber. "I need Kitty, and as many strong people as we can spare!"

            "Kitty's down," Ororo told him. "So's Peter. Sunspot! Blob! Rogue! Go help Beast."

            "Oh, Al," Todd said mournfully. He hopped in behind Hank, and crossed the chamber in a few bounds. When he got closer, Althea could see the tears in his eyes.

            "Al, I'm so sorry," he started. Althea instantly knew why.

            "DAD!" she shouted.

            "He's still alive, yo," Todd continued. "But he got hit by some rocks, and… he don't look good."

            "What about Kurt?" Amara asked.

            "Oh, yeah. He was holdin' onto Fuzzy when it happened. "I'm sorry, but he don't even look as good as Shipwreck."

***

            Logan roared in frustration. Damn the Marauders!

            He had almost caught up to Sabretooth when the intervened. Polaris used her magnetism to hold him against a wall, and Arclight collapsed a wall onto him. He survived, and soon clawed his way out, but he was pissed! When he got his hands on them he-

            He caught a familiar scent. Oh, no. He sprinted off after it. He knew what he would find the moment he smelled it, but part of his mind hoped that he was wrong. Rounding a corner, he saw that he wasn't.

            Sam Guthrie was lying facedown on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Turning the boy over, he saw the bullet wound. One bullet, straight to the heart.

            The chamber was nearby. Sabretooth had led him in a circle. Sighing, he closed the boy's eyes. He went to get Ororo. Her cape could cover the boy up.

            For the first time in a long while, Logan felt his years. Logically, he knew that he'd eventually have to lose one of the students, but that didn't make his hurt- or guilt- less. He did _not want to be the one to tell Sam's family- hell, he didn't want to be the one to tell anybody._

**Well, there it is- the Morlock Massacre, in all its hideous splendour. The story isn't over yet- the mystery of Malice and her connection to Xavier has yet to be fully revealed, as does Essex's motivations, as does the fate of Shipwreck, Kitty, Kurt, and Peter, not to mention the various ways our heroes deal with these events. And the Marauders have yet to get theirs- but they will. Stay tuned for the next instalment of "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Fourteen: Day of Mourning**


	15. Day of Mourning

**Chapter Fourteen: Day of Mourning**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**RogueFanKC- Tabby's not going to take it easily, that's for sure. Only two of the Marauders? It was three- Blockbuster, Riptide, and Prizm. And yes, I will be delving into Fred's and Peter's reactions. Not Xi's, or Remy's, for reasons which will be revealed. Don't worry- the rest will get their just desserts. As for the Stormwreckage, we'll see…**

**L1701E- I'm glad you like it! No, Tabby's not gonna be happy at all…**

**Aaron- Hi! Glad you like the story so far. The Mutant Massacre was one of the first Marvel stories I read in trade paperback, and I still remember a lot of it. I remember that scene. I wanted to keep to the actual storyline as much as I could, and Colossus killing Riptide was one of the few ways I could. No, you _don't want to be Scalphunter, or Arclight, or any of them when their turn comes!_**

**Red Witch- No, Magneto will NOT be happy at all when he finds out! And Victor will be in for a lot of hurt- actually, I already know how I'm going to punish him, and let's just say that not even Magneto can top what I'm going to do to him!**

**Cammy- So you get a 58-question test, followed by an essay due two days later? What kind of course are you taking? Yes, this is going to take a while to recover from, but everybody eventually will. As for who tells the kids… it's in this chapter. Yup, the guys are gonna need your hugs, especially Fred and Peter.**

**A/N: I rushed these two because I have a midterm on Monday, an essay on Tuesday, a small paper due on Wednesday, and a small project due on Friday, so it's going to be a busy week for me. The essay *may* be pushed back, so if it is I hope to have an update early on next week. If not… then the next update will be sometime later next week. Oh- does anybody know what Joe Helicopters- like the one Wild Bill flies- are called?**

            For the second time in under twenty-four hours, a deluge hit the Xavier Institute. However, this one was even worse than the last.

            The Danger Room was filled to capacity with the wounded. Miraculously, every wounded person managed to be fit into the Danger Room and the Medical Bay.

            The OR at the Pit was overflowing. Even with Healer's help, Lifeline and the other surgeons couldn't save all the critical cases. It didn't help that they were practically exhausted.

            Exhaustion was the theme at the Institute, too. Between helping the Morlocks and preparing spare rooms for the unharmed, the various X-People were exhausted. The Misfits were only running on adrenaline- they fought two battles, and had to help two sets of wounded. In addition, they were all terrified by what happened to Shipwreck, but Lifeline expressly forbade them to see him until he said it was okay.

            By the time the sun rose, the teenagers were allowed to sleep. They didn't even make it to their rooms. Logan found them all sacked out in the Rec room, sleeping on the couches and on the floor. He smiled in spite of himself. It was… a scene, to say the least- Misfit and X-Man side-by-side (and in some cases, using each other for pillows). His smile vanished when he realized that nobody told them about Sam. He went to get some of the rapidly dwindling spare blankets to cover the kids with.

***

            "Oh," Low Light moaned as he sat in the mansion's dining room with the other adults. The other Misfit-handlers, as well as the adult X-Men, Moira and Sean, the Outriders, Callisto and Mole, and Gabrielle, were sitting, drinking coffee. They knew that no sleep would be coming for a while.

            "How's Shipwreck?" Hank asked Lifeline, who was the most haggard of them all.

            "He's still unconscious," Lifeline yawned. "It's to be expected. It's a miracle he wasn't more severely hurt. I wish I could say the same for Kurt, though. He was hurt badly. That knife wound- he got an infection. It wasn't fatal, but he's going to be out of commission for a while."

            "Damn," Ororo breathed. "Kitty and Peter?"

            Kitty was horrified when she regained consciousness. She couldn't solidify at all. The Professor had her set up in a special chamber he designed in the event Kitty's powers went haywire. Xavier confirmed Elisabeth's findings. Peter could neither move, nor return to his normal form. As you could expect, he was scared. He didn't have to eat or even breathe in his armoured form, but he was still scared. The one bit of good news was that the throwing stars were able to be removed, and were.

            "The same," Lifeline sighed. "I wish I knew what was wrong with Kitty. Harpoon's blasts must have disrupted her powers somehow."

            "We figured that," Logan grunted. "Anybody else want to drop a truck on that mook?"

            "Have you notified the Guthries yet, Professor?" Spirit asked Xavier.

            "No, not yet. I will, as soon as I figure out what in God's name I'm going to tell them."

***

            "Huh, what," Althea moaned at the light shaking of her shoulder.

            "Althea, it's me," Lifeline said quietly. "Your father's awake."

            "Dad? He's awake?" Althea was fully aware. "When-"

            "I'm taking you to see him right now. Your brothers and sisters are already there."

            "What about-"

            "Sorry, it's immediate family only right now."

            A few minutes later, Althea and Lifeline materialised in the Pit's Med Bay.

            "Dad!" Althea called. He was lying propped up on a bunk. Her sisters were there already. Daria and Quinn were holding Claudius and Barney.

            "Well, that's everybody," Shipwreck smiled. He didn't look too good.

            "Dad!" Althea said as she ran to hug him. She started crying. "Dad! When Todd said how you looked, I wasn't sure you were going to make it."  
  


            "What, me?" Shipwreck asked mock-hurt, but with wet eyes. "I'm too mean to die! Besides- Todd exaggerates everything. Lifeline says I'll be here for a while, though, so until I get back, you're the head of the house. Now will you stop crying? You'll set the babies off again, and they'll set your sisters off, and then I'll start crying, and pretty soon we'll all flood the room!"

            They visited for about a forty-five minutes more, and then Lifeline told them it was time to leave.

            "But-" Trinity started.

            "No buts! Your dad needs to rest, and I think the babies need a nap. Why don't you ask Beach Head about the mission." Lifeline smiled a mischievous smile. "And whatever you do, don't mention the marshmallow marsh that he did _not get stuck in."_

            After the girls and the babies left, and Althea teleported back to the Institute, Lifeline turned to Shipwreck.

            "Okay, they're gone. What did you want to talk to me about?"

            "Can you get Bree in here, too? I need to talk to both of you."

            Lifeline left, and returned with Bree.

            "What do want to talk to us about, Shipwreck?" Bree asked.

            "If I die, I want you two to take care of my kids," Shipwreck told them.

            "What?" Lifeline asked. Bree looked surprised, and then nodded.

            "I thought so," Bree nodded. "You don't even have to ask."

            "What?" Lifeline asked. "You knew?"

            "We're really the only ones that can," Bree told him. She turned back to Shipwreck. "Mara's out of the picture. You don't want to put your aunt and your cousin at further risk after Jesse was kidnapped during the Cobra brainwashing scheme I've heard about. We're one of the only two married couples on the base. The kids are all close to us. Edwin's a doctor, and I'm a nurse, and we're both pretty young. Edwin's dad is a minister, and I'm rich on both sides of the family, so in case anybody does try to butt in, we can honestly say we come from good family environments, and the money will help us get the best lawyers possible if it ever comes to that. We can take care of all of them without having to dip into their trust funds, so all that cash will be there when they grow up. Have I got everything?"

            "Pretty much, yeah. So will you say yes?"

            Lifeline still felt astonished. He was silent for several seconds before Bree nudged him.

            "Yes, of course," Lifeline smiled. "We'd be honoured."

            "Great," Shipwreck said, and closed his eyes. "So, how are all the kids doing? You already said that Kurt's as okay as can be expected. What about the others?"

            Lifeline's happiness shattered.

            "They're fine, mostly," he said slowly. "Kitty and Peter were hit by Harpoon's energy spears. Kitty is caught in a permanent phase, and Peter is paralysed, and he can't return to normal. And Sam," Lifeline swallowed, "Sam is dead."

***

            *Yawn*

            Todd let out a great yawn when he thought he heard Al's voice. When he opened is eyes, he just saw her and Lifeline vanish.

            'They must be goin' to see Shipwreck,' he reasoned. He hoped Shipwreck was okay.

            He tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't, so he put the TV on mute and started playing Super Mario Kart. He was surprised that the X-Geeks still had a Super Nintendo, but he was a Super Mario Kart fan, so he didn't mind. After his first race, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Pausing the game, he looked up to find Roberto. Silently, he plugged in another controller and they started racing each other. Even though they were mostly silent- and quiet even when they made noise- the others started waking up too. Pretty soon, it was Todd, Roberto, Jamie, and Xi playing the game, with the others looking on. Except Tabitha, who was looking for Sam.

            They were startled by the sound of an explosion coming from the kitchen.

            "We're under attack!" Scott yelled, and everybody made for the kitchen at top speed (and fighting mad, too). Pietro, naturally, outran everyone. They ran into Logan, who was standing in front of the door.

            "False alarm," he growled.

            "What the hell's going on?" Lance demanded.

            "I'll tell ya," Logan grunted, and pointed to the Dining Room. The door opened behind him. Pietro emerged, looking shocked.

            "She told you, huh?" Logan asked him. Pietro nodded.

            "What happened in there?" Scott asked.

            "Tabby set off a bomb," Pietro said, looking a little numb.

            "What? Why?"

            "Sam's-"

            "Shut up, Speedy," Logan told him. "It's my place to tell, not yours."

            After he marched all the kids to the Dining Room, he sat them all down.

            "I ain't gonna sugar coat this," he said after a few moments. "We had a casualty. Sam was shot last night. He's dead."

            A lot of the kids gasped. A few just stared in disbelief, like Logan was telling them a very bad joke.

            "What happened in the kitchen was Boom-Boom finding out," Logan went on. "Storm's with her right now."

            "Shot," Bobby said to himself. "That mean's Scalphunter, right?"

            "Probably."

            "I wonder how long it would take for him to freeze to death," Bobby muttered.

            "Get in line, kid," Logan told him. "Get in line."

            "Are you sure, Mr. Logan?" Amara asked, tears in her eyes.

            "I found the body. I'm sure." Amara started crying, and Jamie too. Pretty soon, all the New Recruits were crying. The older kids left them alone with their grief.

***

            When Althea returned to the rec room, she found that it was empty. The others had obviously woken up since she left. She went looking for them. As she went down the halls, she heard the sound of crying coming out of the Dining Room. As the door was slightly ajar, she looked in. She could see some of the New Mutants. They were crying. She continued on, but she didn't need her ninja senses to see that something was wrong. She headed for the kitchen. She knew she'd be able to find somebody there.

            When she reached it, it looked like somebody had exploded a large bomb. Remy was in it, checking the stove and the various appliances.

            "Ah, there you are," Remy said when he noticed her. "How's Shipwreck?"

            "He's fine," Althea said. "He'll be in the hospital for a while, but he's okay. What happened here?"

            "Nobody told you, then."

            "Told me what?"

            "We had a casualty. One of the Marauders- we think it's Scalphunter, but it could have been any of them… Sam was killed."

            "Oh, man." That explained the New Mutants. And this… "Boom-Boom did this."

            "Yeah. She didn't take it very well."

            "Of course not," Althea said. She knew how Tabby must be feeling. If she ever lost her Toddles…

            "Well, Storm's with her, and the Professor is trying to come up with something to tell Sam's parents."

            Althea felt sympathy for Baldy just then. On the rare occasions when a Joe didn't come back from a mission, General Hawk always took it upon himself to inform the family. The rest of the base always knew to leave him alone after he had to write one of _those_ letters.

"The rest of the New Mutants are crying," Althea told him.

"Yeah, and Scott's blaming himself. Losin' somebody on a mission is his worst nightmare. All the other adults are doin' the same."

***

            "What the hell was I thinking when I thought of the X-Men?" Xavier asked himself.

            "You were thinking that young mutants needed to have a place to go to learn how to control their powers," Logan said from the door to Xavier's Den. "You thought that the kids needed a place they could feel safe. You thought that they need to learn how to defend themselves from people that hate 'em just for being born. Any of this ring a bell, Charles?"

            "Logan," Xavier said irritably, "now is not the time."

            "You're wrong." Logan came in, and closed the door behind him. "Now is the time. When you brought me aboard, I asked you how you'd deal with it if a student got killed. You said you'd grieve, and you'd go on. That's what you have to do."

            "Logan-"

            "_Charles," Logan interrupted. "You have to go on for the kids' sake. We've all been through too much together for you to do anything stupid now. The kids need you, now more than ever. They just lost most of their innocence- they've seen war, and they know they can die. They need somebody to tell them it's okay to go on, and that somebody is you, Charles Xavier. If I had any doubts about that, I lost them when Mystique took you from us after the mess with the Sentinel."_

            "They're stronger than they think."

            "Agreed, but they still need you. You're the one that brought them all here. They all believe in your dream. They've put all their hope in you. I know that Cannonball- that Sam did. Our people are in trouble Charles. If you let this get to you, what'll happen? You'll disband the school? You'll step out of the spotlight? Fine, but there's another big leader out there, and as times get worse, more and more mutants are gonna listen to him. Is that how you want Magneto to win?"

            Xavier was silent for a moment. He looked down, and looked up.

            "How did you know what I was going to do?"

            "I know you, Charles."

            "So you do." Xavier looked back at his desk. "Please tend to the rest of our guests, Logan. I have to write down what I'm going to tell the Guthries. Tell the students that I'll read it to them before I contact Sam's family, so I can have their approval. And Logan?"

            Logan turned back from the door. "Yeah?"

            "Thank you. I needed a good kick in the pants."

            "No problem."

***

Amanda pressed the buzzer to the gate. It was Sunday, it wasn't a bad day, and she wanted to do something with her boyfriend. None of her calls to the Institute were answered, so she swung by to take a look. It seemed okay.

"Who's there?" Hank McCoy's voice asked. Amanda had never heard him sound so tired or irritable before.

"It's me, Mr. McCoy, Amanda Sefton. I'd like to see Kurt."

"I'm sorry, Amanda, but that's not possible. There's… been an incident."

"Is Kurt okay?"

"No, no he isn't. I can't let anybody see him."

"But Mr. McCoy, it's me!"

"I know, but now really isn't a good time."

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry. I don't think-"

"You can't tell me that either. But Kurt's my boyfriend! All the others are my friends, too! Can't I at least know what's going on?"

She heard him sigh.

"You're right," he told her. "Come on in."

The gates opened, and she drove in. Logan met her at the door. He sniffed her.

"You're not a Marauder," he said shortly. "None of them are shape-shifters except their boss, and Gambit says he's the hands-off type."

"Huh?"

"The Elf's this way. Follow me, and whatever you do, don't get loud."

Amanda was puzzled, but she did as she was told. Logan led her into a secret elevator.

"Am I going to the Danger Room?"

"No- Sickbay. The Danger Room's one floor below. Sickbay's where we've got our ICU."

"Your _what?" Amanda had no idea what Logan was talking about, but she didn't like the mention of an ICU at all. The doors opened, and Logan led her into another room. It was filled with mutants on beds. They were all hooked up to machines and IV's. And on one of the beds was-_

"Kurt!" Logan clamped a hand over her mouth before she could finish the word. After a few seconds, he removed it. "Sorry," she apologized. She went over to Kurt, and she began to cry silently. He was comparatively lucky- he was only attached to an IV. He was sleeping, or unconscious, and he looked terrible.

"And who's this?" Amanda looked up to see a tall red-headed woman looking at her.

"This is Amanda," Logan grunted. "She's the Elf's girlfriend."

"Oh, so this is Amanda," the woman smiled. She extended her hand. Amanda shook it. "I'm Dr. Moira MacTaggart- Rahne's mother. She's told me about ye. It's good to meet another race traitor."

"A what?" Amanda sniffed.

"No one's called ye that yet? They will soon, I'm sorry to say. By 'race traitor,' I mean a human that does nae automatically believe that all mutants are monsters that want to take over the world and kill all the humans."

"Did humans do all this?" Amanda asked.

"Aye, and nae. The ones that did this are mutants, and mutants are humans too, but these particular ones are the most inhuman spaleens I've had the pleasure of never meeting. No one's told ye about yesterday?"

When Amanda shook her head, Moira and Logan filled her in.

"Oh, no," Amanda said. She closed her eyes, and she could feel more tears fall. Those poor people! What right did those monsters have to kill them? And Sam! She wasn't as close to the New Mutants as she was to the X-Men, but she counted them all friends. Sam was a coal-miner's son from Kentucky who liked to play video games and ride motorbikes, and who cared deeply for Tabitha. "Did you get any of those Marauders?"

"Yeah," Wolverine said fiercely. "Three of them. Seven to go."

"Give them one for me," Amanda said.

"Will do, darlin'," Logan told her.

***

            "That's the last of them," Callisto said. She, the other unharmed Morlocks and Eloi, and most of the X-Men, Misfits, and even a few Joes were back in the sewers. In the very chamber that saw a battle royale just over twelve hours ago. They gathered all of the bodies of the Morlocks, and put them in a pile. Tommy's remains were exhumed, and she and Annalee were at the top of the pile.

            "Are you sure you want to do this?" Evan asked her.

            "I'm sure," she told him quietly. She looked up, and got everybody's attention. "We are gathered here to mourn the passing of our people. Many of them lived short and brutal lives. Some of them lived long and hard lives. All of them died badly. They were murdered by cowards, and some more of our people might end up dying, too. I don't know a lot of things. I don't know if there's a heaven or a hell, and I don't know if there's a god. But I do know that if this universe has any justice, then our people are together in heaven. They are happy, at peace, and loved, just like they are loved down here." Callisto stated the name of every Morlock murdered in the attack. "It may be too late to tell you all this, but we love you. We always have loved you, and we always will love you. You will be missed. And rest assured, we will avenge you all. Count on it."

            Callisto stepped back. Seven of the Joes- Roadblock, Spirit, Low Light, Cover Girl, the Blind Master, Lady Jaye, and Flint- raised their guns, and each fired three shots, making a twenty-one gun salute.

            Callisto nodded to Evan. He shot a few flaming spikes, and caused the pile to ignite. Within moments, every body was ablaze. A few minutes later, all that remained was a pile of ashes.

            A few minutes later, the group was reassembled in the remnants of the Eloi's village.

            Many Eloi were carrying large placards, listing the names of the dead. They were temporary, until gravestones could be produced. Mole went to the front of the group, and turned to face them.

            "We all know why we're here, don't we? We're here to mourn for our fallen family. I say family, because that's what we all were, even though we weren't all related by blood. Those of us that remain are a family, too. And right now, we're missing our brothers and sisters, our parents and our children. We mustn't allow yesterday's events to destroy us. We are a peace-loving family. We must remain peace-loving, in spite of how hard it is. If we can't do that, then the Marauders succeeded, because they will have destroyed us." Mole then recited the names and ages of the fallen. "They are watching us, and watching what we do. We must honour them, and we must let them know that we love them, because they still love us. And above all else, we who remain must stay together as a family. If we dissolve, the Marauders will have won just as surely as if they'd killed us all."

The Eloi not carrying placards were carrying wreaths. Every single dead Eloi had a wreath. The Joes performed another twenty-one gun salute, and the ceremony was over.

"How will we rebuild?" Mole asked himself, taking a moment to overlook the damage. The buildings could be rebuilt, a new Cavern dug, and the scent of death might be removed, but how would any of them be able to forget what had happened? He would have to talk to his people, but somehow he knew that their life here was at an end. Where would they go?

**Well, the funerals are over. That's supposed to be when life gets back to normal, except it won't for a while. Not until the dead are avenged, and not until the survivors have answers- and revenge of their own. The physical and mental healing processes are about to begin for our wounded heroes, so stay tuned for the next instalment of "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Fifteen: Recovery**


	16. Recovery

**Chapter Fifteen: Recovery**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

            After the funerals, Xavier and Lifeline went to Xavier's den to discuss Kitty.

            "She's getting worse, Professor," Lifeline told him. "Her body has destabilized to the point where she can't speak, and she's beginning to become transparent. Your chamber is helping, but it's a temporary measure at best. We need to find some way to reverse the process."

            "Yes, I agree. Have you managed to determine what's causing her destabilization?"

            "Not yet. Your files on her powers are a big help, but I only have half the puzzle. I was able to take some readings with some equipment from the Pit, but I'll have to wait for the results to process before I know anything more."

***

            There was a special room set up in the Institute for Kitty. It held her chamber, which was too big to be placed elsewhere. It wasn't so bad- Lockheed was with her, outside the chamber. He kept putting his face to the glass, and Kitty touched the energy field inside the glass. He kept making a noise. Kitty didn't know what it was, but somehow, she knew he was saying goodbye. Kitty knew that she was losing herself. She couldn't speak anymore, and she was becoming transparent. She didn't know what to feel, so she just felt numb.

***

            Lance was sitting alone in the Rec Room when he heard Xavier and Lifeline coming by.

            "… the energy disrupts bonds within molecules," Lifeline was saying excitedly. "The spear's energy ate into Kitty's bio-electricity, which was vulnerable because she was phased at the time! Maybe we can find a way to transfer bio-electrical energy to her. It would cause her to coalesce. Now all we need to do is find a way to do it. If our bodies produce it, then we should be able to find a way to produce it…"

            Bio-electrical energy? People produce it? A desperate plan brought about by love and a lack of sleep formed in Lance's mind. He headed straight for Kitty's room, and missed the rest of the conversation.

            "That won't be necessary, Lifeline," Xavier said, very relieved. "I know a mutant who produces large amounts of bio-electrical energy. If you'll loan us your teleporter, I'll send Logan to get her immediately. She lives in Madripoor."

***

            "Kitty?" Lance asked, entering her room. Kitty looked up, and mouthed 'Lance!'

            "Hey," he said. "Kitty, I… I want to say some things to you, and I'm not sure how to say them."

            Kitty looked at him. Lance was acting weird- sweet, but weird. She'd never seen him this flustered before.

            "First, and most important, I love you. I love you, Katherine Pryde, like I've never loved anyone else."

            Kitty's eyes would have watered if they still could have. Oh, Lance… why did you wait so long to tell me?

            "Second, I want to tell you how much you mean to me. You've gotten me through a lot. You were one of the major things which kept me from losing it when I was with Mystique."

            Kitty remembered seeing the scars on his back from the beating that Mystique gave him when she found out they were seeing each other.

            "Third, you've caused me to feel things I thought I never would. You've made me love myself, and you've made me hate myself. You've made me want to be a better person. The only other people I can honestly say that about are my friends, Spirit, and some of the Joes. Fourth-" he stopped suddenly, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

            "Fourth, I've been lying to you for a while now. See, when Magneto had us, he experimented on us. He did a real job on me. He injected me with chemicals which changed my powers. I'm stronger than I was before, but my headaches can get worse. And…" he lowered his head, and then looked straight into Kitty's eyes. "And they make me have attacks. When I have an attack, I get killer headaches, and I hallucinate, and when I come out of them, I don't know who I am or who anybody else is. There are drugs I can take that help me, but even with the drugs I still have the attacks. The reason I haven't told you is because I don't want you to see me like that, ever."

            Kitty's eyes widened, and her jaw opened. Oh, Lance… why not? I wouldn't have thought any less of you.

            "Fifth, and last, is goodbye. I know how to help you." Lance went up to the chamber, and pulled the plug. Kitty drifted out, confused. Lance took another breath.

            "I love you," he whispered, and stepped through her.

***

            "She's this way," Xavier said, leading Lifeline, Logan, and Jessica Drew to Kitty's chamber.

            "And you're sure I can help her?" Jessica asked Lifeline.

            "She should absorb the bio-electrical energy she needs to regain control of her powers from your energy," Lifeline explained. Jessica stopped.

            "Should? Forgive me, doctor, but I'm not about to risk a child's life over a maybe."

            "Ms. Drew, I-"

            "NO!" Xavier suddenly yelled. "Hurry!" He sped off towards the room. The others followed. Then, they heard screaming.

Entering, they found Lockheed flying about in panic, and Lance was with Kitty. He had apparently stepped through Kitty, and he was screaming. He was also phasing from fully solid to transparent and back again. Kitty was also screaming, but she could produce no sound.

"Lance, what have you done?" Lifeline whispered.

"How the hell did Rocky- never mind!" Logan said, openly worried. "Charles, Lifeline-"

"She seems to be absorbing his bio-electric energy," Xavier said. "And it's killing both of them."

"Can it be stopped?" Jessica asked.

"Maybe," Lifeline said slowly, "but I think the only way is for you to give an immediate transfusion."

Jessica's eyes widened, and then closed in resignation.

"I could kill them, but if I don't, they're both dead anyway," she whispered. "Here goes nothing."

She raised her hands, and pointed. Crackling greenish-yellow energy flew from her hands, and hit the two of them.

After a few seconds, they both stopped screaming.

"I think it's working!" Lifeline said excitedly.

"They aren't in as much pain," Xavier confirmed.

"Keep it up, Jess," Logan encouraged.

Jessica didn't need any encouragement. She remembered the first manifestation of her energy, her 'venom blasts' as they were later called. She accidentally killed the man she loved. She never imagined that she would ever be able to heal with them, but now she was, and she would be damned if she failed!

More time passed. Lance and Kitty started phasing in synch. The time between phasings grew wider.

"They're both solid!" Logan exclaimed. "I can smell them!"

"Okay Ms. Drew, lessen the energy flow, but be ready to raise it again." Jessica nodded, and lessened the blast. Lifeline began to take readings from the machinery in the room.

"They're getting better!" he breathed. "Keep toning down the energy."

"Gotcha."

After more seconds, they were both fully solid.

"Cut it out completely, Ms. Drew, but be ready to do it again."

"Roger." Jessica stopped the energy flow. Lance crumpled to the floor, unconscious, but Kitty only slumped to her knees. Lifeline rushed to both of them, and began to heal them.

"I'm solid," she sighed. "I'm solid!"

"You're gonna be all right, half-pint," Logan smiled.

"Oh, good," she smiled, and them fainted. Logan caught her.

"They're both going to be fine, eventually," Lifeline smiled. "Even Lance should be back on his feet soon. But what possessed him to do this?"

"He must have heard us talking," Xavier surmised, relief washing over him. He had lost a child, but one was saved- no. _Two_ were just saved. "He probably only overheard half of the conversation."

Lifeline picked Lance up, and motioned for Logan to pick Kitty up.

"These two need rest," Lifeline smiled. "Do you think you might be able to help Peter too, Ms. Drew?"

"My name is Jessica, doctor. My friends call me Jess. And yes, I think I have the juice for another sustained blast."

"Great," Lifeline grinned. "Let's just put these two to bed."

***

            "Uhh," Lance moaned. The world was black, but was growing grey. He realised his eyes were opening, so he opened them all the way. "Huh? What?"

            "So you're awake," Lifeline smiled. "It took you long enough! But you did have a long night, so I guess we can forgive you."

            Lance looked around. Everybody was there- Kitty, Spirit, the other Misfits, the Misfit handlers, Lifeline, Bree, even the adult X-Men. There was also a woman that he didn't recognize. She was about Bree's age, with black hair, green eyes, and a large amount of the hotness.

            "Lance!" Kitty exclaimed, and hugged him. "That was the nicest thing anybody's ever done for me!"

            "It was also one of the dumbest things I've ever seen anybody do," Logan grunted, "but we know why you did it."

            "Uh, Kitty," Althea said. "You're not the only one that wants to hug him."

            "Oh. Like, sorry, Althea." Kitty stepped aside, and the Misfits took turns hugging him. And then…

            "You jerk!" Althea punched him on the right arm.

            "Moron!" Wanda punched him on the left arm.

            "You coulda gotten yourself killed, yo!" Todd hit him in the stomach.

            "Idiot!" Pietro slapped him upside the head.

            "Dummy!" Xi gave him a small head-butt.

            "Fool!" Fred punched him in the gut again.

            "Don't pick on the hero!" Lance whined.

            "We cleared it with your physician," Wanda smirked. Lifeline waved. "Oh, yeah." She slapped him upside the head five more times. "That was for the girls and the babies."

            "Does anybody else want to hurt me?" Lance whined.

            "Yes, but we decided to wait until your next training session," Spirit smiled.

            "Lance, don't _do_ that to us!" Althea said, tears in her eyes. "You could've gotten yourself killed! I can't have anything happen to you, too!"

            "Me too?" Lance's blood went cold. "Is Shipwreck-"

            "Dad's fine, but my nerves are royally shot! Oh, yeah." Althea gave him a shot to the leg. "That was for dad."

            "No more hitting! No more hitting!"  
  


            "It's okay, Lance!" Kitty smiled. "They're only hitting you because they care. Besides, I'll kiss everything and make it all better."  
  


            "Really?" Lance's eyes lit up. "Then can somebody punch me right in the-" Logan's claws were immediately an inch from Lance's face. "Lips," Lance squeaked.

            "Good man," Logan nodded. "I'd hate to have ta cut off yer… lips."

            Jessica laughed. Lance looked at her.

            "Lance, this is Jessica Drew," Xavier told him. "She saved both of your lives."

            "Then I guess I have to thank you," Lance smiled. "Thanks."  
  


            "No problem," Jessica grinned. "I always wanted to use my powers to help somebody. I just wish I could help your metallic friend more."

            "Jessica was also able to fix Peter," Lifeline said, "but he was more hurt by Riptide's throwing stars than we all thought. He started bleeding heavily when he turned back. It's gonna be a few days before he's fully healed."

***

            "Oww," Peter moaned. He was laid out in his room, as he did not need to be monitored, and the plan was to clear the room out a.s.a.p. He was heavily bandaged, and was still somewhat stiff.

            "Hey," Fred said as he entered the room. He sat down in a chair that was put in for visitors.

            "Hello," Peter grunted.

            "So, I, uh, heard you finished Riptide off," Blob said, uncomfortably.

            "And you got Blockbuster," Peter nodded.

            They were silent for awhile.

            "You replaying it, too?" Fred finally asked.

            "Yeah," Peter said shortly. He didn't fight with Riptide, he just squeezed his hand, and the man was dead. He killed him. He had _killed_ somebody. Reviewing the moment was one of the main things he did while paralysed- that, and review his life.

            "It… it doesn't make me feel the way I thought it would," Fred went on. "I mean, I'm glad he's dead, and I've killed things on the farm before, but I've never killed a person, you know?"

            "Why are we having this conversation?"

            "Baldy suggested that we talk about it, and the adults agree, so here we are. I heard there's gonna be somebody who's gonna talk to us about it, too."

            "If it's Psyche-Out, I will jump out of the window."

            "I'll join ya."

            "Yeah, well it ain't Psyche-Out," Logan said from the open door. Low Light was with him. "Charles thought you'd been tortured enough, so he nominated us, and Roadblock agreed."

            "Let's get this over with," Low Light told them. "Blob- how do you feel about your first kill in this man's army?"

            "I'm glad, I guess."

            "Colossus- same question."

            "I guess I'm glad," Peter shrugged (or would have, if it didn't hurt too much).

            "Really?" Low Light and Logan both asked.

            "Yeah, really!" Peter told them. They just looked at him.

            "Terrible," Fred finally admitted. "I know it was him or me, and I know he was a murderer, but I can still feel his blood all over me. I can still smell it, too. I remember what his body felt like after I'd been hitting it for so long. Happy?"

            "Maybe," Low Light said.

            "You got anything ta say, bub?" Logan asked Peter.

            "I can still remember the sound Riptide made when his neck broke," Peter said quietly. "I can still feel the way he felt in my hand with his neck so twisted. I can still feel his neck when I stepped on it after he died. I… I wanted to step on his head, not his neck."

            "Didn't know you had it in ya," Logan told him, genuinely surprised. He and Low Light exchanged a look, and then Low Light stepped forward.

            "Look, I know I'm supposed to ask you a whole bunch of psychological questions and other bull, but I'll just skip it. Nobody is happy that the four of you had to kill the bastards, but the fact is you _did_ have to, and you _did_ kill them, and you're going to have to live with it."

            "It should've been one of us that did the killing," Logan took over, "but it wasn't. If either of you guys start to feel bad for what ya did, don't. They got what they deserved, an' that's it. But if you can't get over it, then you can talk to us."

            "I thought you'd want us to talk to Psyche-Out, or the Professor," Peter remarked.

            "We'd prefer it," Logan nodded, "'cause we ain't much good with the touchy-feely crap, but neither of 'em ever killed anybody physically."

            "We've killed before," Low Light told them. Killing a human changes a man, even if they deserved it. We've killed before, so we know what the change is like. You guys have two options- you can let it change you for the worse, or for the better. Just remember this- killing doesn't make you evil, you two get me?"

            "I guess," Fred shrugged.

            "I think so," Peter nodded.

            "Good," Logan grunted, and the two left.

            "You think they're right?" Peter asked.

            "They weren't born having killed," Fred shrugged. "I- I still…"

            "I know," Peter nodded, and the two remained silent, dealing with what they were forced to do. They hated it, but they both knew they'd do it again in a heartbeat if they had to. Part of them, the part that had somehow still been innocent, hated that too.

***

            "Tabby?" Ray asked, as he knocked on her door. He knew he wasn't the best person to approach her, but he had to anyway. He knew how Tabby had to be feeling- she lost Sam, and he'd lost Scaleface. He didn't hear any crying, and he'd been listening for awhile to make sure, hence the knocking.

            "Go away!" he heard Tabby shout. Ray sighed.

            "Look, I gotta talk to you, so open up, or I'll blast your door in."

            Ray heard movement. Tabby opened the door. She looked terrible. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her eyes were red. It looked like she cried quietly, not loudly. Ray turned to leave.

            "What?" Tabby demanded.

            "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you crying. I'll just go."

            "Well, you bothered me already, didn't you? What do you want?"

            "Well, I wanted to let you know how sorry I am for what happened to Sam."

            "Thanks," she said shortly, and started to close the door. Then she opened it again, as if reconsidering, and beckoned Ray in. Ray entered.

            "I met Scaleface last night," she said.

            "Yeah? So what?" Ray's face looked suspicious.

            "Do you want to know what she said?"

"Only is she said anything about how she was doing. She was my girlfriend."

            "Do you mean that was as in 'before she died,' or was as in 'before you just left her?'" Ray winced. He deserved that.

            "I just want to know how she was doing."

            "Why don't you ask a Morlock?"

            "Because most of my old friends are either dead, hurt, or not speaking to me. Besides, you brought it up."

            It was Tabby's turn to wince. Somehow, she forgot that Ray was a Morlock before he came to the Institute.

            "You wanna know what Scaleface said about how she was doing?"

            "Yeah."

            "She didn't talk about herself much. We talked about you."

            "Yeah?" Oh, lord…

            "Yeah. We talked about how much of a jerk you are, and how you stare at every hot chick that walks by even when you're with your girlfriend. Even more than most guys do, I mean."

            "Oh." Ray was starting to feel very small. He couldn't deny that what Tabby was saying was true, and yet- just supposing that Reader was right- maybe- about him being… gay… just maybe- that would explain why he was always staring at girls, trying to turn himself on- and why it never worked for long, if at all. "I see." It dawned on him just how much he had hurt Scaleface, and he felt even smaller. "Thanks, Tab."

            Something on Ray's face made Tabby sigh. She told the truth, but it wasn't all that Scaleface said.

            "Ray, wait. She also told me that she cared about you very much, even though she was pissed at you. If she lived, I think you two were going to have it out once and for all. You hurt her a lot, y'know."

            "I know." Ray hung his head. He had hurt her a lot. He didn't even take the time to thank her for letting him out when he went back to the Alley looking for Evan. Now, he never would have the chance to make it up to her.

            "What's wrong, Ray?" Tabby asked.

            "You know that feeling you get when you know you can never fix something?" Ray asked. She saw tears in his eyes. "I'm feeling it right now. Aw, what am I doing? You should be the one that's crying."

            "I think I'm done crying for right now," Tabby said very quietly.

            "You don't have to hold it in for me."

            "It isn't for you." Tabby looked up at him, eyes flashing. "It's all about you, isn't it?" God- just when she was starting to like Ray just a little bit.

            "I just wanted to let you know that nobody would think less of you if you cried. I'll go now."

            "Ray, wait." Tabby said, and grabbed his arm. "I know whatcha meant. I'm sorry. It's just that I don't know what to do. I know I'm gonna cry later, but right now I can't anymore. I don't know why, I just can't." Ray sat down on the floor.

            "Wanna talk about it?" he asked.

            "No. Yeah. I don't know." Tabby took a few paces, and then sat back down on her bed. "It's like I know that I'm hurt bad, but I don't feel it, and I don't know why."

            "Maybe it hasn't hit you yet."

            "Maybe. I don't know. Sam… Sam was the first guy I ever knew that saw the Tabitha, not the Boom-Boom. And he liked me, he really liked me."

            "He loved you," Ray said quietly.

            "Huh?"  
  


            "I… kinda overheard him talking on the phone to one of his brothers or sisters. He was talking about you. He said that he thought that he loved you."

            "He said that?" Ray nodded. Tabby's face went still.

            "Sam," she started crying, and almost instinctively, Ray stood up and hugged her. They stayed like that for awhile.

***

            "Are you sure you want to do this?" Xavier asked his students. Except for Kurt, they were all there, and the Misfits were there, too.

            "Yeah," Tabby said quietly. The whole thing was her idea, but the rest of the New Mutants agreed. When the X-Men heard, they went along with it, as did the Misfits.

            "Then follow me." He turned, and led them to a room he'd hoped he'd never have to use. When he opened the door and wheeled in. The children entered after him, almost all gasping as they entered. Laying on a slab, covered by a white sheet, was Sam's body. By all rights, the family should have had the first viewing, but nobody was home when he phoned them, and they didn't have an answering machine. Xavier wheeled over, and turned the sheet down to the waist. What? That was odd. The gunshot wound was almost unnoticeable on Sam's bare chest. Obviously, Lifeline, Healer, or somebody had done a restoration job on him.

            "Who would like to go first?" Xavier asked, quietly.

            "Ooh," a voice moaned from behind him. Several students gasped, and Xavier stiffened in anger. "Whoever that was," he said angrily, "that was most certainly _not funny!" The children looked at each other, but nobody said anything. "Now then, who-"_

            "Ooh," the voice moaned again. More students gasped. Xavier felt his face go pink with anger. "I said cut that out!" he hissed. "Now then-"

            "Ooh," the voice moaned yet again. Xavier's face went from pink to scarlet.

            "It wasn't any of us," Althea said.

            "It really does sound like it's coming from behind you, Professor," Scott said in shock.

            Xavier turned to look at the body. Nothing unusual-

            Until the eyes blinked open.

            "Oh," Sam muttered, feeling more tired than he ever had in his life. "What a nightmare." It was the worst he'd ever had- there was an attack on a group called the Eloi, then on the Morlocks, and to top it all off, he got shot in the heart! Sam yawned as he got up out of his bed- which for some reason felt awfully hard and cold. Damn Bobby! It had to have been another practical joke. Brr! Even the carpet felt hard and cold.

            Sam opened his eyes fully. He then blinked them several times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. When he accepted that the Professor, all of the New Mutants, almost all of the X-Men, and all of the Misfits were staring at him in open-mouthed horror, he looked around.

            "This ain't mah room," he muttered, and then the full reality of the situation hit him- he was stark naked. "Oh, mah Gawd!" He covered himself as quickly as he could. "Professor, everybody, Ah am so sorry! Awright! Which one of you yahoos knocked me out, stripped me, and put me here?!? Wherever here is."

            "Sam?" Tabby asked him in a weird, high-pitched voice. She musta had a bad night's sleep too, because she looked terrible!

            "Yeah Tabby?"

            Her eyes rolled up in the back of her head, and she fainted.

            Later, everyone would agree that Tabby was the first to faint. Some would point fingers at each other, saying that they were next, but the blame didn't change the result: in exactly sixty seconds from the moment Tabby hit the floor, every single person in the room except Sam had fainted.

            Sam, wondering what in God's name was going on, uncovered himself and looked himself over.

            "Ah'm not _that ugly, am Ah?"_

**I called the title 'Recovery' for a reason, and now you know why. Comic readers know what's going on, but for the rest of you that are scratching your heads, I say hold on! The answer will come. In the meantime, there is the aftermath of this event, relationships are renewed, and a triangle busts up, so stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Sixteen: A Little Healing**


	17. A Little Healing

**Chapter Sixteen: A Little Healing**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**L1701E: I'm glad you like them!**

**RogueFanKC: Yup, he's alive! When I wrote the 'Lance-sacrificing-himself' bit, and I wrote the recovery, the Misfits just started hitting him- and you're right, it's how they show they care!**

**Fugama: I'm glad you like the story!**

**Red Witch: How did I know? Well, I thought about it- in terms of the show and of your characterizations, and I figured that they're really the only choice. The kids look to all the Joes as aunts and uncles, and Shipwreck wouldn't bust up the Misfits if he could help it. Bree and Lifeline are both patient, loving people, and while all the Joes love the kids, how many are patient enough to deal with them on a daily basis? As for Lifeline having issues with his father- I re-read 'True Confessions' on the fanlisting, and I was reminded that Lifeline's dad tried to run his life. Yeah, I'd have issues, too.  And some Sam and Tabby stuff? Yay! I love the way you do romances- Althea and Todd, Jean and Scott, Kurt and Amanda, Remy and Rogue, and Sam and Tabby. As for the Sam plot… yup.  I chose Sam for that reason.**

**JCKIDSMART: Here you go!**

**Aaron: There will be some fallout to Sam's condition, but I won't be putting too much here. About Lance- he knew that it could possibly kill him, but he didn't care. That's Lance. As for Jessica- I knew I couldn't heal Kitty and Peter the way the comics did, and I remembered Jessica, and how her venom-blasts first manifested, and so she showed up.**

**A/N: Okay, who saw Ascension pt. 2? It blew me away, especially the ending. My only problem is that it is the _perfect_ place to end the show, and there is so much more that can yet be done! But then, as a certain space-show told us, "All good things must come to an end." But not yet, dammit!**

            "How are you feeling, Sam?" Bobby asked a few hours later. After everyone woke up, the Professor psychically alerted most of the other awake adults, and they took Sam away. For the moment, Sam was confined to the room used to store Kitty, which was redone for him. When the New Mutants were allowed to come visit him, they found him hooked up to several different machines.

            "Ah'm pretty fly for a dead guy," Sam quipped. When the others winced, Sam realized that was _not_ the right thing to say.

            "So were you really… dead?" Amara asked, almost whispering the last word.

            "That's what Wolverine said, and Lifeline too."

            "Madre de Dios!" Roberto swore. "What was it like?"

            "Roberto!" Most of the New Mutants gave him a shot.

            "It's okay," Sam shrugged. "It was kinda like being knocked out, Ah guess. I don't remember much- just waking up. And getting' shot, too. Y'know, the people that invented guns obviously never got shot themselves."

            "Especially since they didn't have guns before guns were invented," Bobby smiled. He couldn't help it.

            "You know what Ah mean!"

            "Did it hurt?" Jamie asked, eyes wide.

            "No, not really," Sam said. "Ah don't remember feelin' a thing. Well, there was a pain in mah chest, kinda like a pinch, but that's it."

            "That's it?"

            "That's it. Ah guess it might have hurt more if Ah got shot in the butt. One a' mah uncles got shot there, and oh, but did he holler something fierce!"

            "So what did they do to you," Ray asked, gesturing to all the machines. Sam shuddered.

            "It was terrible. After Storm stopped hyperventilating, Logan stopped sniffing me, and Beast and Lifeline stopped freaking out, the Professor read mah mind, and they got Xi in there to make sure that it was me and not Mystique or some other shapeshifter. Then they started the tests. Ah had a full physical, from head to foot. They did every single test they knew- CAT scans, MRI's, X-rays… they even gave me a proctology exam! Ah had to give blood samples, cell samples- they even wanted me to give them… y'know… so Ah had to drink over a litre of water and eat a huge meal! Ah'm surprised they didn't ask me for a sample of mah-" he looked at Tabby and Amara, and blushed. "Ah sample of mah… y'know…"

            "A semen sample," Amara said matter of factly.  
  


            "Yeah, that's it."

            "So do they know what's wrong with you?" Ray asked. "No- not what's wrong! I mean, what's right!"

            "No, they don't know yet- or if they do, they haven't told me."

            "It's good to have you back, dude," Bobby smiled.

            "Yes, it is," Amara agreed, and went to hug him, but Tabby beat him to it. Sam hugged back. Tabby started crying.

            "They said you were cryin' over me. You, you shouldn't have…" Sam bit his lower lip, and tears formed in his eyes. "Ah remember what Ah thought, before… Ah was upset that Ah didn't have a chance ta say goodbye to everybody." He started crying too, and the two held on to each other even tighter. The rest of the group started to tear up, too. Tabby lifted a hand off of Sam's back, and beckoned for the others. It was difficult to do a group hug- the lighter New Mutants had to climb up on the bed- but one was eventually formed.

***

            Charles Xavier smiled as he saw the scene. He was going to schedule a counselling session for his younger charges, but he knew he could put that off for a little while. He was glad that his students trusted each other enough to let their guards down and show their emotions freely. He was beginning to get worried about Sam- the boy took the news too easily. Now that the reality had sunk in, he could begin to recover.

            "How is Cannonball, Professor?" a voice asked from behind him. Xavier gasped. He didn't hear or sense anyone approach.

            "Physically, he's fine. However, we still don't know why-"

            "There is something in his genetic code," Xi said softly.

            "I beg your pardon?" Xavier asked. Something in Sam's genetic code?

            "What do you mean, Xi?" Xi looked pained.

            "If I am interpreting it correctly, he is now immortal."

            "What?" Xavier gasped.

            "He will age to full adulthood at a normal rate, but not long after that his aging will slow to practically nothing. He has a healing factor which rivals Wolverine's in power, but not in speed. If he were to break his back, he would walk again, but it would take weeks to be able to do so, and months to regain full mobility. Although, it seems able to do quick restorative work when his life in immediate danger. He is not invulnerable- except when he is in his blast field, of course- so he may be killed, but if he is not, he could conceivably live forever. I believe these effects were not going to fully manifest until he became an adult, but his death jumpstarted the process."

            Xavier sat back, letting it all sink in. One of his students, an immortal?

            "He could outlive us all," Xavier said in awe.

            "And every single one of our descendents, but do not envy him, Professor. I know what is to lose everyone you love. It is not a fate I would wish on anyone, not even Magneto or Cobra Commander." Xi turned to leave.

            "I have to ask you to not say anything, Xi," Xavier said before he could go.

            "I told Lifeline, and he told me to tell you," Xi nodded, looking back. "Do not worry. We all have secrets to keep."

***

            "It was good seeing you again, Professor," Jessica smiled when it was time for her to leave. "Even under the circumstances."

            "It was good to see you again as well, Jessica," Xavier smiled as they shook hands. "I hope that you will reconsider your decision."

            "I don't think that I will," she told him. "I have a life in Madripoor, now. But, if you ever need somebody to watch the kids, or to sub in here, give me a call, and if I can help, I will. Goodbye, Professor Xavier."

            "Goodbye, Jessica." She and Logan teleported away, and Logan came back a minute later.

            "I told you, Charles," Logan said.

            "I know," Xavier nodded. "And you were right, of course. Has she found out any more information about the Hand?"

            "No, not yet. She has to take it slow, or else…"

            "I understand."

***

            "Hey," Wanda said to Peter. He was in his room, sketching.

            "Hello," Peter replied, absently.

            "Latest piece?" Wanda asked him.

            "Perhaps," Peter shrugged.

            "Mind if I take a look?"

            "Go ahead." Peter handed him the sketchbook. Wanda looked at the page, and her eyes widened in surprise. It was of Lance and Kitty and Peter. Lance was standing, back arched, and screaming. Kitty, transparent, was imposed over Lance. She was in a similar pose, and was also screaming. Peter was standing rigidly in the background, clearly wanting to do something, but not able to. There was some liquid coming off of his hands. Wanda knew what it was.

            "Why would you want to draw this?" She demanded. She couldn't believe it! Lance could have died, Kitty too. Why would Peter draw something like this?

            "I didn't intend to. Sometimes, when I've had a bad day, I grab my sketchpad and my pencil, and start drawing. You have seen 'The Sixth Sense,' yes?"

            "Yeah," Wanda frowned. What did that have to do with this?

            "Well, you know the scene where Bruce Willis talks to the mother about that stream-of-consciousness writing- you know, where you just start writing nothing in particular, and soon you end up writing what's really on your mind?"

            "Yeah, I do. Let me guess- you do it with drawing instead of writing, right?"

            "Yes. Exactly."

            Wanda looked at Peter. He hadn't looked at her once since she came up to him, which was unlike him. He was slumped against the wall, as if he was tired- okay, given what happened that night and the day before, it was possible. She was fine, and so were all the others. She knew that the Misfits would be given a little break to recover from today, and also as a reward for how well they did. How well they did. Ha! They didn't do well. Not at all!

            No. He wasn't tired- he looked like he just got beat. And in a flash, she knew how.

            "Lance tried to save Kitty's life today. He risked his life to do it. He failed, and it was a dumb idea to begin with, but he knew the risks, and he did it anyway. You couldn't, because you were paralysed. You would have done the same thing if you'd overheard Baldy and Lifeline, but you weren't there, because you got hurt. And on top of that, you killed Riptide. You don't think you're worthy of the Kit-Kat anymore, do you?"

            Peter nodded slowly.

            "You big dope," Wanda told him gently, "you don't really think she'd care, do you?"

            "No, she wouldn't, and I know it. But I do." Peter looked up. He looked terrible. "I'm not the man I was twenty-four hours ago. I've killed someone. He deserved to die, and if I hadn't done it then more people would have died, but I killed him."

            Wanda sat down beside him.

            "Have you talked to anybody about it?"

            "Logan and Low Light talked to Blob and I. It was short, and more of a 'if you have problems, then talk to us' speech. We men usually aren't good with discussing emotions."

            "Well, men are idiots. Women don't have that problem." They sat in silence for a while. "Would you like to talk to me about it?"

            "I… I do not know what to say. You've never killed before, so you don't know what it's like."

            "Try me."

            "Very well. First of all, I feel revulsion that I did it at all. Even though I only 'met' Riptide for a few seconds, I hated him like I've hated few others, so I'm glad that he's dead. A small part of me was glad that I was the one to kill him. And a larger part of me hates myself for the part that enjoyed it. And then, there's the fact that I keep hearing the crack of his neck when I grabbed it, and I keep seeing the expression on his face as I did it. He has earned whatever hell he is burning in, but I… I don't want to be the one to have sent him there. And then there is another part of me, and that part is afraid that I will kill again, and eventually I'll come to like it. I feel dirty, Wanda. That man's blood is on my hands, and I can't get it off ever." Peter put his head in his hands. "I think I would like to be alone now."

            Wanda got up to go, but then changed her mind. She hugged Peter instead. He stiffened in surprise, and did not hug back.

            "Stop that," she hissed fiercely. "You are _not_ the bad guy here, Peter Rasputin. You hear me? You are not the bad guy! You did what you had to do. If you didn't kill him, he would have killed Althea, Todd, and Sunspot. And then he would have started on the people in the tunnel, and God knows how many of them would be dead before he was stopped! You are a hero."

            Peter broke out of the embrace.

            "I am not a hero."

            "Yes, you are! You wanna know what a hero is to me? A hero is somebody that does what has to be done to save people, no matter what the personal cost. A hero does what other people can't, or shouldn't have to. You are a gentle guy. Yeah, Low Light or Wolverine should have done the killing, but you did it. You did the only thing you could, you got hurt doing it, and you saved lives. You did the right thing." Peter looked up and began to speak. Wanda put her hand over his mouth.

            "Don't give me any of that 'I did the only thing, but was it the right thing?' crap. You did the right thing, and if you ask any of the Morlocks, they'll all say the same. You killed him, Peter. You didn't murder him. He wasn't defenceless, and you weren't invulnerable. That's how it is."

            "Then why do I feel so bad?" he asked, plaintively.

            "Because, like I said, you're a gentle person in your heart. You feel things even when you shouldn't." After a second, Peter hugged her, and she hugged back.

            "I'll think about what you said," he whispered.

            "You do that." They stopped hugging.

            "Thank you," he said, and meant it. They both knew he'd have to work through this on his own, but Wanda had given him some comfort, and that meant a lot. "It doesn't change my decision, though."

            "Your decision?" She looked at him, and he looked at the picture of Lance and Kitty. She looked back at him in surprise. "You mean-"

            "Kitty deserves to hear it first. Avalanche too, I guess."

***

            Dinner was uneventful. There was some conversation, but not much. After dinner, as Wanda went to her shift in the Danger Room, a woman came up behind her and touched her on the shoulder. Wanda turned around to see who it was. She didn't know the woman's name- just that she was a guest of the X-Geeks, and… wait a minute. The woman looked awfully familiar. Wanda looked the woman over. She had black hair in a loose bun, and brown eyes. There was a golden medallion of a Star of David around her neck. Wanda looked back up at the face. It was her! She was older, but it was her!  
  


            "Gabrielle?" Wanda breathed.

            The woman's- Gabrielle's- face broke out in a smile. "I thought I told you to call me Gaby when we're alone. Oh, dear, it is so good to see you."

            Wanda's mind whirled. It _was_ her! Gaby- the woman who Magneto hired to look after her and Pietro after their mother died. The last time she saw her was a few weeks before her father put her away.

            "Where were you?" Wanda demanded angrily. "Where were you all this time? Did you even know that-"

            "I knew everything, Wanda," Gaby said sadly.

            "What?" Wanda screeched. "You _knew_? All that time? Why the hell didn't you ever come see me? Why didn't you-" Wanda stopped abruptly, and turned her back on the woman. "I have to go. I have a shift in the Danger Room."

            "And so do I," Gaby said, speeding after her. "You're angry with me, and you have every right to be. If you want to hate me, then go ahead. But you aren't going to do it before I explain."

            "Really?" Wanda muttered, and sped up. Gaby grabbed her arm, and turned her around. Wanda's eyes flashed, and the corridor began to shake.

            "Let me go," Wanda hissed.

            "Not until you promise to listen to me. You keep your promises, Wanda. You always have."

            "Fine. Talk as we walk."

            "Okay." They made for the Danger Room. "When your father sent me away, I was going through a rough patch. When… I didn't have to worry about my problems and I tried to contact him, I discovered what he did to you and to your brother. I tried to go see you both, but he left instructions that I was not allowed to see you."

            "Because he was a cruel man? Tell me something I don't know."

            "He never admitted it, but Charles told me that it was because he was afraid that I would have made off with you. And he was right- I would have."

            "Really?"

            "Really. Charles told me you were being well cared for, so I eventually let it drop. I only found out the full truth after Mystique broke you out. Oh, Wanda," Gaby sighed. "I would have done anything to spare you from that."

            "That's it?"

            "That's it."

            "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

            "No, and I don't expect it to. I told you because my son and I will be living here for a while, and you Misfits spend a lot of time here. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other, so it's best that you know why I wasn't there for you when you needed me. That's it."

            "You're damn right you weren't there when you needed me," Wanda told her.

            "Say whatever you want to me," Gaby sighed again. "You can't possibly say anything worse than I've already said to myself."

            "Really? I'm living on an army base now. I've heard a lot."  
  


            "I don't doubt it."

            The shift was quiet and uneventful. The worst thing Wanda had to do was change a few bedpans. She kept thinking about Gaby. Somehow, in her focus on her father and her brother, she had nearly forgotten Gaby. For a long time, she dreamed that Gaby would come and take her away- somewhere safe, where they could live with Pietro and where Wanda would never even have to look at her father again. She remembered the way things used to be, with Gaby taking care of her and her brother, and her father too. She remembered how sad she was about a year before she was locked away, when Gaby moved out of the house to live in a place of her own. It was then that she started spending less time with her family- much less time. That lessened the hurt of Gaby's complete departure a bit, but not by very much. The last time Wanda saw her was on the last night. Her father had taken all four of them out to dinner at a very nice restaurant, and when the evening was over and they were going to leave in separate cars, the twins hung on to Gabrielle with all their strength. Her father practically had to drag them off of her.

            Since she was let out, she had changed a lot, and it wasn't just the mental re-arranging that Magneto had Mastermind do. She eventually let go of her hatred towards Pietro, because he couldn't have done anything and because he loved her, and because she knew she loved him, too. Her time with the Joes changed her a lot, too. Lifeline had endured a lot of her worst memories with her. Shipwreck thought of her as a daughter. Wanda sighed. She knew what she had to do, not necessarily for Gaby's sake, but for her own.

            "What did you have to do?" she asked Gabrielle as soon as the two of them were alone after the shift.

            "I'm sorry?"

            "What did you have to do that took you away from us?"

            "Very well," Gaby smiled. "I'll tell you, but only if you promise to not tell anyone- not even your brother. It's not just my secret, and Pietro had a very big mouth as a child, and from what I've been told, he still does."

            Gaby took Wanda to an unoccupied room, and told her everything- about Xavier, what happened to David, and how Malice fit into it.

            "Oh, my God," Wanda breathed when Gaby was finished. "And that's the same thing that has its hooks into this girl?"

            "Yes. Almost certainly."

            "I can see why you were busy," Wanda said.

            "Thank you. Does that mean-" She was cut off by Wanda's fierce hug. Gaby hugged her back just as fiercely.

            "I missed you, Little Swan," Gaby said. Wanda couldn't see Gaby's face, but she could hear the tears in her voice. "Oh, how I missed you."

            They stayed like that for a while, then broke the embrace.

            "So, does Pietro still love to stare at his own reflection?" Gaby asked, laughing.

            "What do you think?"

            "Do you think he's recognized me?"

            "If I didn't, he definitely didn't. Don't worry- all you have to do is say 'Pietro Maximoff, have you been in the cookie jar again?' and he'll recognize you."

            They both started laughing, and went to find Pietro.

***

            "Kitty," Peter said after dinner, "I need to speak to you. It is very important."

            "Okay, Peter," Kitty smiled.

            "Can you go tell Avalanche to come along? It concerns him as well."

            Kitty's eyes widened in surprise.

            "Like, okay Peter. No fighting!"

            "If there is fighting, I won't be the one that starts it."

            A few minutes later, the three of them were alone in the Rec Room.

            "So what do you want to say?" Lance asked, suspiciously.

            "When I was paralysed, I did a lot of thinking. It was the only thing I could do. Excuse me." He went to the door, opened it suddenly, and then slammed it. Pietro, Rogue, Bobby, Evan, and Fred fell back, grumbling.

            "I thought about my life, and the course that it's taken. I have cause to regret many things, but not my becoming an X-Man, and not my feelings for you, Kitty. I love you. You make me feel like a man."

            "Peter," Kitty sighed. Then she frowned. "Hold on a minute." She phased through the couch. She emerged a moment later, dragging the squirming Jamie, Brittany, Daria, and Quinn. She marched them to the door, phased through, and returned alone.

            "As I was saying," Peter continued, "I love you. But, I know that I am not the only one." He looked at Lance. "I also know that we cannot go on the way we have been. I realize that you love us both, Kitty, and if Avalanche and I were to suddenly develop feelings for each other as well, then the three of us could make some arrangement. However, since that will never, _ever happen, something must be done, because this isn't fair to any of us."_

            "You got that right," Lance snorted, and went to the closed window. He opened it, and slammed it down. Todd, Althea, Xi, and Elisabeth, who were hanging on to the window sill, jolted involuntarily. They managed to land safely. Nobody was hurt, but they got the hint. Lance turned his back to the window, and looked back at Kitty and Peter. "So what are you gonna do about it? Make us fight for her?"

            "No," Peter sighed. "I have a solution, but first… Kitty, I must ask you something, and please be honest. Do you care about us equally?"

            "Honestly? Yeah. If I didn't, we wouldn't be in this situation."

            "That is what I thought," Peter sighed. "This is what I am going to do. Kitty, I am not going to go out with you anymore. You and Lance are free to be together, and I will not interfere."

            Lance's jaw dropped. Kitty's eyes widened.

            "Peter-"

            "Kitty, we cannot go on like this. If you cannot choose, then somebody must."

            "Peter-"

            "Goodbye, Kitty." Kitty looked up at him.

            "I'm a little ticked that you're just going to break up with me, but you're right. I can't choose, and it isn't fair to either of you. Goodbye, Peter." She reached up, and they kissed. Lance felt his blood boil, but even he could tell that it was a kiss goodbye.

            "Before you two go, I need to talk to you, Lance," Peter said after the kiss ended.

            "You're not going to-"

            "_I'm not," Peter told her._

            "And neither am I," Lance said.

            "Okay," Kitty said. "I'll be in the kitchen when you're done. I want to make something nice for the Morlocks and the Eloi."

            Kitty left, and the two rivals looked at each other.

            "If this is a trick," Lance began.

            "It isn't a trick. I meant everything I said. But I still love her, and I always will." Peter got into Lance's face. "And if you ever make her cry, I will take you apart."

            Lance stared back, just as firm. "And if you ever get involved in our relationship, you're gonna need that hide of yours to protect you from me."

            "Fair enough," Peter growled. He stepped back. "Just, take care of her. She's special."

            "You don't have to tell me that," Lance scowled. His face softened in spite of himself. "You got a lot of class," Lance said grudgingly. "I think she'll be taking care of me, too," Lance said as he left the room, leaving Peter alone with his thoughts.

            "Be happy, Katya," he whispered as he sat down, savouring the lingering taste of her on his lips. Soon that would be gone, and he would be alone.

**I am unapologetically Lancitty. I admit it- and the show... No! Must… not… spoil! Well, that's one more chapter done. Not many more now! Next time, time passes, we see some more snippets of our heroes' lives, and we find out what the Marauders have been up to since we saw them last, so stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Seventeen: Ways of Dealing**


	18. Ways of Dealing

**Chapter Seventeen: Ways of Dealing**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**RogueFanKC: Yup, I loved the future scene, too. And as for the eavesdropping- what did you expect? The Lance-Kitty-Peter show has been a great source of entertainment to that bunch. You're dead on with the blackmailing- I don't care how serious the problem is- I would never discuss it in that house unless I absolutely had to! As for the asskicking- it is almost upon us!**

**Cammy: It's okay- you sounded busy last week! I was pretty busy, too- and still am. As for the sequel, if any… yes, eventually, but maybe not right away. I have a number of possible places to go, and I haven't decided where yet.**

**L1701E: I'm glad you liked it. I thought I verged on sappy at times. Yeah, Peter does have class- and I believe that if the positions were reversed, Lance would have done the same thing. Re. Sam- good idea for a crossover, but I'm afraid he isn't that kind of an immortal. Although, the confusion might be a good way to set up a crossover… hmm…**

**Red Witch: Yup- that place has more spies than SHIELD! (Better spies, too- but please don't tell Fury I said that!)**

**Sparky Genocide: Hey! Glad you like it! Nope, I don't think that the triangle will be busted up in Red Witch's or L1701E's fics either, and I'm glad. It's just so damn amusing- I wasn't even going to do it, but it seemed so natural given what had happened, and then there was the… No! Mustn't spoil! No, Magneto won't be happy when he finds out what Sabretooth has done, but that will be addressed in time. Besides, nothing Magneto could top what's going to happen to him in about two chapters, and saying more would be spoiling, so I'll shut up now.**

Like sands through an hourglass, like water through a river, it is the nature of time to pass.

            The X-Men and New Mutants had to go to school the next morning, so they did. They were still tired, but except for Kurt- who wasn't up to it yet- they went. Compared to the weekend, the first week of the last semester were very boring.

            The Misfits were given a new duty: caring for the wounded until the X-Men and co. were able to do it. That meant during the days. Pietro and Wanda spent extra time at the Institute, becoming reacquainted with Gabrielle. Wanda kept her word- she didn't tell anyone, not even Pietro, what Gabrielle told her.

            Not everything was calm, though.

            Late one night, Althea entered the kitchen to find Fred already there, sitting at the table. He had one of his 'Blob Deluxes' in front of him, but he wasn't eating.

            "Bad dream?" she asked him. The question was rhetorical- what happened last weekend was enough to give them all nightmares, but Fred had a special cause to worry.

            "Hunh," he grunted. Althea sat down beside him.

            "Wanna talk about it?" she asked. He just shook his head.

            "You sure?" she asked. Fred nodded. Althea shrugged.

            "Okay. But I'm here if you wanna talk." Althea got herself a couple cookies and a glass of milk and went for the door.

            "I was covered in blood," Fred said quietly. Althea stopped. Silently, she turned around, and sat opposite him.

            "I was in Hawk's office, and I was covered in blood. He was yelling at me. 'Remember what I told you?' He kept shouting it. He pressed a button, and the floor opened up underneath me. I fell for a long time, and I was screaming for him to forgive me. I landed on an operating table, and some straps came out of the sides and I couldn't move. The table changes position, and I'm facing a door. Mystique and Dr. Mindbender come out of it, and Magneto and Cobra Commander are standing behind them. They're all smiling, and Mindbender picks up a scalpel and says, 'I wonder what killer blobs are made of?' Mystique says 'We're about to find out,' and then they all go to the walls, and Blockbuster comes out. He's all bloody and broken, like he was after I killed him. He smiled at me, and came right up to me. He lifted his hand like he was gonna hit me. Then he swung. I woke up just as his fist was about to hit my nose."

            Althea just stared. Oh, Fred.

            "I know what it means," Fred went on. "It means I'm afraid that Hawk's gonna kick me out for killing Blockbuster, and that Magneto or Cobra or somebody's gonna find me, and use me as an experiment. I know it's crazy, but I… why do I feel like I deserve it?" Tears started rolling down his face. Althea didn't know what to say, so she just hugged him. That's when he broke down. Althea could hear the door close, and footsteps move away.

            The next day, after the Misfits returned to the Pit, they found Hawk waiting for them. Hawk took Fred aside.

            "Spirit told me what you said to Althea last night. You are _not leaving," Hawk told him, firmly. "You shouldn't have had to do it-"_

            "That's what everyone keeps saying," Fred said softly, hanging his head. Hawk put a hand under Fred's chin, lifted it, and looked Fred straight in the eye.

            "They're right. As I was saying, you shouldn't have had to do it, but when I was talking about punishing you for killing people, I did not mean situations like this. You're stuck with us, Fred Dukes. God help us all." Hawk smiled. Fred looked away, and then crushed Hawk in a bear hug. Fred quickly remembered his strength, and released him.

            "Medic," Hawk whimpered as he fell to the floor.

***

            Fred wasn't the only one to have nightmares. Many of the kids had nightmares about what had happened. One of them had nightmares about something else.

            _Elisabeth was lying on a table. On the table next to her was an oriental woman, in her mid twenties, who was apparently unconscious. Elisabeth felt light hit her face. She looked up, and saw a figure in white approaching her from an open door. The light obscured the face and features of the woman, but somehow it looked familiar. The figure touched Elisabeth's forehead, and then the other woman's forehead. Suddenly, Elisabeth was screaming. Her mind was being flooded by images of a life not her own, and she heard a voice that was not her own screaming in pain. Elisabeth felt terrible. She suddenly didn't know who she was, or what she was, and she saw herself dressed in a ninja suit killing people. She saw the other woman dressed up as her, fencing with her brothers, or having tea with her family. The images, of her life and of not-her life jumbled, so that she was having tea with her mother in a ninja suit and jumping up to behead a man for bringing her tea that was too cold. The images blended and blurred until they became incoherent, and then Elisabeth heard laughter, terrible, mocking laughter. "You shall never oppose me in the Circle, child," a third voice laughed, louder and louder and louder, and even the incoherent colours faded to black, and Elisabeth felt herself falling, until she woke up gasping._

            "What in God's name is wrong with you girl?" she asked herself. "You should be having new nightmares about the Marauders, not revisiting an old nightmare."

***

            Not that anyone knew it, but they had nothing to worry about from the Marauders for the moment, but that was about to change.

            "Here comes Hurricane Polaris," Scrambler muttered to Vertigo. Polaris stormed by in a huff. Vertigo sniffed, and Polaris shot her an evil look. Vertigo shot Polaris a challenging look. Polaris growled, and stalked off. Scrambler and Vertigo started to snicker. They still remembered Polaris' outburst when the master told them that the hunt was over.

            "Why can't we finish them off?" Polaris screamed. "You said it yourself- the old woman said that we failed, and we're sure she's telling the truth!"  
  
            "We cannot mount an offensive because we are underpowered," Essex growled. "We will not attack the enemy on their own ground when we are at less than full strength. That is final!"

            Polaris had yet to stop raging. It got so bad that Essex had to call her for a private meeting.

            "Malice," Essex said, touching the picture on Polaris' choker. Polaris' face went blank, and Malice's enraged face appeared in the mirror.

            "You promised me revenge!" she screamed.

            "I remember that," he said, allowing his voice to fill with cold rage. "And you will avenge yourself against Xavier, Haller, and all the others, but I cannot afford to allow it now. You must be patient."

            "I have waited for too long!" she shouted.

            "You will wait longer. I tire of this- Polaris takes her cue from your emotions. You will curtail the amount of rage you are feeding her."

            "I will not!"  
  


            "You misunderstand. That was an order, not a request." Essex leaned into the mirror. "Do not believe that you are invulnerable. Your loyalty and patience have been remarkable, which is why I have tolerated Polaris' behaviour. I grant such to so _very_ few, but my patience for your childishness is at an end. Persist in it, and I shall be forced to correct you, Malice."

            Malice followed orders, but she still seethed. She had waited too long to allow Sinister to take her vengeance away when it was in her grasp. As she walked through the secret base, Polaris' feet took her to the Cloaking Shield. The Shield protected the hideout from detection. As Polaris checked it and realigned it, Malice smirked. She knew what she could do. She took brief control of Lorna, and deliberately misaligned a critical piece. It was slight- very slight- and it wouldn't affect the Shield right away. But by the time a few days had passed, the Shield would begin to fail. The best part was that when it was discovered, it would be interpreted as an honest mistake, which could happen to anybody. Polaris would take the punishment, if one was given. Malice would be safe- Essex would certainly suspect, but he couldn't prove anything, and that one never acted without proof.

            Soon, now, very soon…

***

            "Hey," Amanda smiled as she entered the Danger Room. Kurt wasn't quite healed enough to let him go back to school, but he wasn't in danger anymore, hence his being moved to the Danger Room.

            "Hi," Kurt smiled. He was glad that Amanda could come see him. "How is the new term?"

            "Ugh," Amanda frowned. "Don't ask. It won't be so bad when you're back with me. We're in every class together."

            "Well, that'll make me get better fast- more time vith my hot babe."

            "And I'll get to spend more time with my hunk muffin."

            'Oh brother,' the nearest patients thought.

            "Ah, young love," Sean remarked to Moira. They were splitting their time between the Institute and the lab at Muir Island until the wounded were fully healed.

            "Remember when we met?" Moira asked.

            "Aye. I was in a community production of 'The Rocky Horror Show,' the first thing I did after I left Interpol, and ye were in the front row of the audience. I was Frank N. Furter, and we locked eyes when I came onstage, and I almost forgot the words."

            "Aye," Moira smiled. She turned back to Sean with twinkling eyes. "How about we do the Time Warp again when we get back?"

            "Let's skip the wait," Sean grinned.

            "Ye better wise up, Sean-et Weiss!"

            "Sorry, sorry. I guess I'm just gonna have to be breathless with antici……pation."

            "Wait until we get home. Then ye'll get to touch-a touch-a touch-a touch me, creature of the night!"

            "Creature of the night," Sean leered.

            "Creature of the night!" everybody in the room sang. The lovers blushed. Clearly, they weren't as quiet as they thought they were!

***

            One night, at dinner, things got ugly. Sam noticed that a lot of the Morlocks, and even a couple of the Eloi, had been staring at him. He also heard some whispering, but ignored it, since it couldn't possibly be about him. Or so he thought.

            "Coming back for more, Sam?" Ewe laughed as she served him yet another helping of food. He couldn't help it- he was a growing boy, and Ewe was a great cook. He couldn't believe that Ramrod and Ramfist were her sons. The Joes took everybody aside and told them that Ewe didn't know who her children were working for, and to keep their mouths shut around her. So far, everybody had.

            "Of course he is," Masque said quietly, but loud enough to be heard. "The boy knows all about coming back when he has no right to, doesn't he?"

            Everybody stopped eating. Even those who had been talking stopped when the sensed the silence.

            "And what is that supposed to mean, Masque?" Callisto asked, very calmly.

            "You know exactly what I mean," Masque snapped. "We're all thinking it, I'm just saying it."

            "Are you implying that Cannonball has no right to be alive?" Xavier asked, every bit as calm as Callisto.

            "I'm sorry," Masque sneered. "I thought I was saying it right out." The next thing anybody knew, Masque was knocked to the floor, and Tabby was on top of him.

            "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" Tabby screamed. "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK IT, YOU-" It was then that Logan and Hank pulled her off of him.

            "Get up," Callisto snarled. She picked Masque up. "Excuse us, Professor. My underling and I need to have a talk." She frog-marched Masque out of the room.

            The Morlocks and former Morlocks looked at each other. Masque was gonna get it! And rightly so, in Evan's and Ray's opinion.

            "May Ah be excused, sir?" Sam asked softly.

            "Don't you want that extra plate, Sam?" Ewe asked. Sam smiled at her.

            "No thank you, ma'am. You're a great cook, but Ah don't have much of an appetite right now."

            "Then you may go, Sam," Xavier told him.

            "Thank you sir," he almost whispered, and left.

            "Tabitha," Xavier said, looking at her, "behaviour such as that is inexcusable. I am very disappointed. What Masque said was cruel, but you must remember that he has recently lost his home and most of his family, and he is looking for somebody to blame. Since the Marauders are nowhere to be found, he has chosen Sam. I'll inform you of your punishment later. For now, I think Sam needs you." Tabby nodded and went after Sam.

            "Professor," Sunder rumbled, "I know it's not my place to get involved, but don't punish Boom-Boom. Masque is a jerk through and through. He had no right to hurt the boy like that, not after he risked his life for us."

            "If he'd said that about one of mine, I know I'd have beat Boom-Boom to it," Cover Girl agreed. "I was gonna do that too, as it is." Several people nodded.

            "Be that as it may, the students are here to learn control," Xavier disagreed. "They cannot respond to words with violence, no matter how hateful."

            "Tell me you didn't want to punch that creep into the middle of next week."

            "Into the middle of next year, actually."

***

            "It's called survivor's guilt," Low Light said. Sam was in his room, staring out the window.

            "Huh?" Sam asked, turning around.

            "I ran into your girlfriend. She said she couldn't reach you, so I decided to try."

            "You don't have to," Sam muttered. "He was right. Why am Ah-" He was interrupted by Low Light shaking him.

            "No, Masque is wrong. We don't know why you're back yet, but we'll find out. It is not your fault that you're still alive when all those others died. You're asking yourself if it's because you dress up and go out to fight, right?"

            "Huh? How did you know?"

            "I went through it too, after Morrisseau."

            Sam looked at Low Light. He'd forgotten about that.

            "I know what it does to people," Low Light told him. "It'll eat you alive if you let it, boy."

            "Does it get easier?"  
  


            "No, but you do learn how to ignore it. But you're not going to be able to do it if you spend all your time in here out of guilt." Low Light left, leaving Sam with his thoughts.

***

            "Hold onto your horses, kiddies," Shipwreck boomed as he threw open the front door of the house. "The Shipwreck is back, and better- oof!" The air flew out of his lungs as Pietro slammed into him, giving him a bear hug. The others soon joined him, and Shipwreck was soon in the middle of a big group hug.

            "Okay, I need to breathe," he wheezed. The others let go.

            "Geez, you had to get better just as I get used to the peace and quiet around here," Althea said, eyes suspiciously wet.

            "Peace and quiet? Around here? Okay, who are you people, and what have you done with the kids?"

            "Good to have you here," Roadblock grinned. "We could always use more cheer."

            "He's back!" Polly squawked, and landed on Shipwreck's shoulder. "Boy, am I glad to have you back! The girls are teaching the babies that Polly is a pet!"

            "Polly _is a pet," Brittany smirked._

            "And what to the boys do with their pets?" Shipwreck asked.

            "Oh, they play…" Quinn told him.

            "They tie me up and help the girls experiment with me!" Polly shouted.

            "Polly almost go boom," Claudius giggled.

            "Boom-boom-boom!" Barney added.

            "Don't tell me they've got more TNT!" Shipwreck moaned. "I thought I told you to get rid of that stuff!"

            "You did, and we did," Daria said innocently. "But you never said we couldn't get more."

            "Oh," Shipwreck moaned.

            "Welcome back," Spirit grinned.

***

            "Anybody want dessert?" Tabby said sweetly. The Professor had a serious talk with her about attacking guests. As punishment, she was required to serve everybody for a week. "We have a cake unlike anything you guys have ever tasted before."

            "I'll have a big piece of that," Masque smirked. He enjoyed having the bomber be forced to wait on him.

            "Coming right up," Tabby smiled. "Anyone else?" When nobody took her up, she headed to the kitchen.

            "Something is very, very wrong," Jamie whispered to Elisabeth. "Tabby's never been this nice to anybody for this long!"

            "She has her reasons," Elisabeth whispered back.

            "If you say so," Jamie shrugged. "And when did we get a cake?"

            "Today," Elisabeth replied innocently. "Kitty baked it. She's been doing a lot of that, lately."

            It took all of Jamie's willpower not to burst out laughing. Looking around, he could have sworn he saw the Professor wink.

***

            Suddenly, it was Saturday, one week since the attack on the Eloi.

            Kurt was out of the infirmary, and was back to being his normal self. He was still visited every day by Amanda, who volunteered to help with the wounded and the sick (the only sick person was Masque, who was recovering from a nasty case of food poisoning).

            The Misfits were still coming by to help, although the need was lessening. It wouldn't be long before the last of the wounded were whole in body, if not spirit.

            Elisabeth mostly enjoyed her week in the American school system. A lot of people were friendly to her until they found out where she was living. Most of them stopped after that, but a few stayed friendly to her. Amanda was one, and there was a boy named Paul who was another. Scott told her that Paul's father was Mainframe, who she vaguely remembered from Bree's and Edwin's wedding. When Paul heard what had happened, he also started volunteering at the Institute.

            Lance took Kitty out almost every night that week, after Kitty was finished her homework and he was finished his shift. They were planning to go on a double-date that night with Elisabeth and Pietro, and were soon joined by Althea and Todd, and Amanda and Kurt (who was finally let out), and finally Remy and Rogue, Sam and Tabby, and Scott and Jean. Nobody remembered why they used to fight. For their part, the adults of both teams started a two-fold pool- how long the truce would last, and who would be the first to break it. The rest of the Joes and even Gabrielle, Moira, and Sean soon got into the act. So far, the most bets were placed at about a week-and-a-half after the Eloi and the Morlocks went home, and the most bets were placed on Pietro making an ass of himself, with Peter losing grip of his jealousy coming in at a close second.

            Kitty was just getting ready for the mass date when a telepathic alarm went through the Institute: *All students are to report to Cerebro right away!*

            Five minutes later, she showed up in the Cerebro chamber. All the others were there, as were the Misfits and the handlers.

            "Lance? What are you doing here?"

            "Beats me," he shrugged. "I was starting to get ready, and then we got a call to come here right away."

            "Where's the fire, Professor?" Shipwreck asked.

            "Ever since last night, Cerebro has been detecting unusual readings," Xavier explained. "An hour ago, the readings suddenly cleared up." He pressed a button. On the console behind him, a face and body appeared. A lot of people gasped. It was Arclight. "And it's not just her. For the last hour or so, I've been picking up on all of them. They are in one place." He pressed another button. A map appeared on the screen. "They are holed up in the Appalachians."

            "Could this be a trap?" Roadblock asked.

            "Possible, but I doubt it. It has all the signs of a mutant 'cloaking device' slowly failing. It could be staged, I admit, but if it isn't-"

            "Then it's payback time," Thorn said, and smacked a fist into his other hand.

**The long wait is almost over: the final fight is almost upon us! Be prepared for twists, turns, some strong language, and Malice's full story! Stay tuned for "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Eighteen: It's Payback Time!**


	19. It's Payback Time!

**Chapter Eighteen: It's Payback Time!**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**Negrath: Hi! I'm glad you like the story! Anyway, you're right, it isn't canon (although it would be awesome if something like it ever were…). It's in Chapter Two- Car Trouble. It is 3rd on the chapter bar, as I have a prologue. It's right at the beginning of the chapter.**

**Cammy: Latin final? Yikes! Sounds frightful. Yup- go Tabby! She doesn't need her bombs to take revenge on people- she just likes to use them for that purpose! She will protect her man and her friends however she must. That's our Boom-Boom! About Revanche- she'll be making an appearance very, very soon, but free? We'll see… And about the payback- you won't have to wait very long at all.**

**Sparky Genocide: Ah, yes… I'm a Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual, ****Transylvania****… No, really! I love the RHPS too. Yeah, Masque is a big jerk. He might just fit in with the Acolytes, except he'd rather be important down in the sewers than a low-level guy in a big organization. Re. Sam: Yes, that's exactly where it came from. Romyness? Yup, there's some coming up eventually…**

**  
Red Witch: I'm glad you loved it! Hawk cares about all the people under his command, and tries to help them when he can (which isn't that often, since most of them are beyond help- just the way we like them!). Tabby doesn't take anything lying down- and her time with the Brotherhood has taught her all about revenge! As for Low Light- the incident at Morrisseau probably still follows him, although he doesn't have nightmares as much as he once did, so he knows what it's like to survive something really bad when so many others don't.**

**L1701E- Nope, I don't think Masque knows about karma- but he does now! Yup, maybe the Watchers do confuse Sam for one of their immortals, setting up a crossover… hmm…**

            The strike force sent to the Appalachians was full of nerves and grim resolve. It was time to fight back!

            The force came in two waves: a small recon unit, to be followed by the main offensive.

            The recon unit consisted of Althea, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Mrs. S., Remy, Logan, Thorn, Todd, Storm Shadow, and Xi. With the exception of Jean and Mrs. S, who would be handling the telepathic communication, the group was responsible for sneaking into the compound and scouting it.

            That part proved almost too easy. It was practically child's play for Kitty to scout her way into the compound, and then return to phase the others through. They split up into groups for safety- Althea, Kitty, and Thorn; Kurt, Storm Shadow, and Xi; and Remy, Logan, and Todd.

            It was the first group which made the first discovery.

            "What are these?" Kitty breathed. The three of them had stumbled into a room full of strange glass tanks.

            Althea looked at the tanks. She had never seen anything like them, but she knew what they were.

            "These are cloning tanks," Storm Shadow said, wiping off the condensation on one. He saw that it was empty. "I have seen similar ones, but these are highly advanced. It seems that, in addition to destroying life, these monsters are experimenting with creating it." He wiped the condensation off the rest. All were empty.

            *Are you reading us?* he asked telepathically. The idea of all of them being telepathically interconnected was somewhat unnerving, but he saw the need for it- enough for him to let his mental guard down to allow the telepathy.

            *Loud and clear, monsieur ninja* Gambit told him.

            *I don't know what they want with cloning tanks* Logan grunted, *but I ain't willing to find out.* 

            *Agreed* Storm Shadow and his team left the chamber, unaware of the three pairs of eyes that were watching them from a hidden part of the room.

            "Master," one of them rumbled into a comm link the moment the intruders were out of earshot, "we have guests."

            Polaris was with Essex when the report came. In her mind, Malice cheered. It was about time! Now, to get away, and get free reign at the Xavier Institute when the greater force came knocking.

            In her cell, Destiny sat up just a little straighter as the paths of the future changed yet again. She saw a numbers of paths the incoming attack might follow. In some of them, she was freed. In others, she was not. In still others, she was killed. She hoped that that she could avoid the latter two fates.

***

            After the recon team got the layout of the place, it was time for the main strike force to attack.

            The issue of got to go was contentious. Everybody on every team and group concerned demanded to go.

            It was finally decided that Jamie, the Triplets, and Elisabeth would stay behind. Jamie and the Triplets due to their age, and Elisabeth due to her lack of experience. None of them were happy about it. Of the others, all the other Misfits would go, as well as all the other New Mutants, and all the X-Men. The Outriders, all of them- as Hepcat and Hound Dog had healed- would be going, and Willow would be going along with them. A number of Morlocks, including Evan, would be going, and Sean was going on his own behalf. In addition, a large contingent of Joes would be along- the Misfit handlers, Storm Shadow, Jinx, Lady Jaye, Flint, Beach Head, Barbecue, Leatherneck, Wet Suit, Bazooka, and Snake Eyes, with Wild Bill providing air support and Lifeline to treat the wounded.

            "Wish me luck," Pietro said as he and Elisabeth managed to catch a moment alone.

            "Good luck," Elisabeth said, and then they kissed.

            "You'd better come back," she said afterwards.

            "Count on it," Pietro grinned, and zipped off.

***

            "So they're off," Gabrielle said from the window, as she watched the X-Jet speed off. A two-pronged attack was chosen- a small strike force to stir things up, and a larger force that would corral the Marauders that tried to flee, while simultaneously handling the defences.

            "Does anybody else feel nervous?" Moira asked. Gabrielle and Xavier nodded.

            "Have you given instructions about Polaris?" Gabrielle asked Xavier.

            "Yes, I told them that Polaris is being controlled, and that she is to be brought here to be freed."

            "Is that all?" Moira asked. Xavier nodded. "Even after all this time, I still cannae believe that your son David had so much darkness inside him that he could create Malice."

            Jamie's gasp was heard outside the door. Xavier looked up, annoyed, and then his expression became resigned.

            "Come in," he sighed. Jamie, the Triplets, and Elisabeth entered.

            "I'm sorry, sir," Elisabeth said contritely. "We didn't mean to overhear, we just wanted somebody to wait with."

            "Well, I'm afraid you did overhear, Psylocke," Moira told her. "Charles, Gabrielle, ye may as well tell them everything now."

            "I agree," Gabrielle sighed. She had hoped to keep this a secret.

            "Very well," Xavier nodded. "As I assume you've figured out, David isn't just Gabrielle's son. He's mine too. He is a mutant- potentially among the most powerful of us all." The young mutants took some of the remaining seats.

            "He has many different powers: telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, shapeshifting, and teleportation, among others. The catch is that David himself cannot control his powers. Each power is controlled by an aspect of his personality, which have broken off into their own identities."

            "You mean he has multiple-personality disorder?" Daria asked.

            "In a word, yes. He has as many personalities as he does powers. Each personality is separate and distinct, and they shared control of his body. For that reason, David was kept apart from most people until something could be done. Only someone beat us to it."

            "Malice," Elisabeth reasoned.

            "Yes," Gabrielle said softly.

***

            "Which way do we go now?" Rogue whispered to Remy. She, Remy, Lady Jaye, Flint, Jinx, Wanda, and Fred were one wing of the strike force. Althea, Kitty, Lance, Evan, Logan, Snake Eyes, and Spirit were the other.

            Remy pointed left.

            "On the count of three," Flint mouthed. "One, two-"

            "Three!" Scrambler laughed as he jumped out of his hiding place. He knocked the guns out of Flint's and Lady Jaye's hands, and almost brushed Remy before running off. As the others went after him, the ground underneath began to shake. Arclight.

***

            "Arclight!" Kitty hissed. "They know we're here!"

            "You got that right, Pretty Kitty," Vertigo called as she stepped in front of them. She used her powers, but fortunately everyone knew to avert their eyes. A good plan, but a bad idea, as Scalphunter started shooting. Dodging bullets when one's eyes are closed is damned difficult.

***

            "And so it has begun," Essex muttered in the control room. "How did they find us? No matter." Essex touched a switch on the control panel. If he knew Joe tactics, there would be some form of aerial cavalry coming in any minute now. Sure enough, the blips on his radar proved him right. Well, when they got close enough, they would be in for one very nasty surprise!

            He looked down at the maps of the headquarters. Eight of his servants were either engaging the enemy or still in position. Polaris and Sabretooth were missing, and so was one of his two-man stealth jets. Suddenly, the mystery of how they could have been found became clear to him. He ran a diagnostic on the Cloaking Shield, and found it ever so slightly misaligned. It was slight, but more than enough to allow detection.

            "Brilliantly played, Malice," he hissed. Polaris may debate what he does, but she doesn't defy him. Malice, though… she would be severely punished, even if she did kill the chosen one while she was in Bayville. But there would be time for that later.

            Essex retreated to his specially made hiding place, which held a number of monitors and comm devices. He had a battle to fight.

***

            "Marauder Central, dead ahead!" Wild Bill called.

            "Looks like a nice place," Wet Suit said sarcastically.

            "Blackbird, do you copy?" Wild Bill asked.

            "We're reading you, Tomahawk," Ororo's voice came through the comm link. "Would you like the left or the right?"

            "It don't matter to me," Wild Bill smiled. "You pick."

            Suddenly, large portions of the ground began to open up.

            "What the-"

            Sentinels started flying out of the holes. Lots of them.

            "Oh boy."

***

            "Malice was… _is_ the embodiment of David's darker emotions," Gabrielle went on. "She is his hatred, his cruelty, his… well, his malice. She is also extremely forceful- she was able to control the body much longer than any of the other personalities."

            "Longer than David?" Quinn asked.

            "Not at first, but eventually, yes."

            "When David's powers manifested, and his personalities emerged, I took him here," Xavier said.

            "I had difficulty with him," Gabrielle confessed. "It is… difficult caring for that many people, even if they only have one body between them. While Charles attempted to teach him control, I took a job caring for- a friend's children. However, after a time, he let me go so that I could care for my son."

            "I believed that David was as controlled as he could be, short of my interfering telepathically," Xavier explained. "Doing so was out of the question. Even if I would have, David's mind is shattered. Any sort of tampering would only fragment it further. I was confident I taught each personality some level on control- some more than others, I admit- but I failed to take Malice into account. When I thought I had curbed her actions, it turned out that she was only biding her time."

            "What did she do?" Brittany asked.

            "Malice has the power to control minds by feeding them negative emotions. She can manipulate people into doing what she wants. She can even control them for periods of time, but direct control is taxing. Anyway, after David left my care, Malice slowly began to manipulate David's other personalities, which she was only able to do because they are all incarnations of David, and not whole. Soon, for all intents and purposes, there were only two minds in his body- his, and hers. And she used that leverage to… well, there are some things you're not old enough to hear."

            "I'm not even old enough to hear them," Moira told them, before anyone could protest.

            "But the main thing she did was to kill people," Gabrielle said suddenly.

            "I was hoping to gradually lead into that," Xavier told her. Gabrielle shrugged.

            "I've never believed in sugar-coating things to teenagers. Do any of you kids know what the M Cult murders are?"

            "I remember those!" Jamie said.

            "You _remember them?" Gabrielle asked._

            "Well, I read about them. They were the ones where kids would kill their entire families and paint an 'M' on every mirror in the house, right?"

            "Right," Xavier sighed. "What internet sites do you visit?"

            "Anyway, it was Malice," Gabrielle told them. "She used her powers to take over those teenagers. When they were done with the murders, she would take control and paint those M's on the mirrors. She used the blood of the victims to do it."

            "Why would she do this?" Elisabeth asked.

            "To create pain, fear, and confusion," Xavier told her. "From the community, from the friends and family of the dead, and from the innocents she used as her tools. These things give her pleasure."

            "The murders occurred once every month," Gabrielle reminisced. "During that time, David changed. I wasn't sure why. He became withdrawn, and haunted. He never said why, but I assumed that it was because of the murders. The killers were all childhood friends of his, you see."

            "Eventually, I discovered what Malice was doing, and I went to put a stop to it," Xavier said. "Storm, Wolverine and I came to end it by any means necessary."

            "What happened?" Trinity asked him in unison.

            "We fought," Xavier said slowly. "Malice and I fought on the Astral Plane. But not before she tormented us. She entered all of our minds, and decided to play with us by playing on our fears. She tormented me with a childhood fear of rats. She got Logan by playing upon his memory difficulties. Then, she hit Ororo with her claustrophobia- which backfired. Ororo's claustrophobia was too powerful for Malice to handle. The shock loosened her control over Storm, and Storm drove Malice's consciousness out of her body, and into a mirror. I saw my chance to free David, and I took it. I entered his mind, barely managed to calm him down, and I freed all of his personalities. We then fought Malice- the personalities, David, and myself. Not even Malice could stand up to that many minds working against her in unison. I believed her destroyed, but before she vanished, Malice put her strength into one final assault on David's mind. He was catatonic for a long time, and when he returned to himself, he was as is he is now- with the mind of a child."

            "Whoa," Elisabeth breathed. She didn't know what to say.

            And then, a large metal something crashed through the window.

***

            "How many of these damn things are there?" Scott shouted as the Sentinels attacked.

            "Too many!" Ororo called back. "Cyclops, take the controls. I have some robots to reduce to scrap metal! Everybody else- to the ground as quickly as you can!" Ororo ran to the back hatch, opened it, and flew out.

            "Ye heard the lady!" Banshee called. "Who wants to go for a flight?" Jean lifted herself, Peter, and Hank out of the X-Jet. Sam grabbed Tabby, and made a miraculous 'Cannonball' departure (miraculous, because nothing was damaged). Kurt grabbed Ray and Bobby, and Roberto flew out.

            "Looks like it's you and me, lass," Sean told Amara. "Be prepared, though- I'm told this is a wee bit disconcerting the first time."

            Going to the hatch, Sean grabbed Amara's hand and started screaming.

            'No,' Amara reflected as they flew off. 'Dr. MacTaggart's comment was right on- he _does make Celine Dion sound like a bass!'_

            "Land this thing!" Beach Head called to Wild Bill.

            "I'm tryin', but these Sentinels ain't making it easy!"

            Kurt bamfed in.

            "Who vants to fly AirNightcrawler?" he asked.

            "I will!" Bazooka grinned, grabbing Kurt as Beach Head did the same. Todd made some damned impressive leaps getting Xi and Pietro to the ground, and going back for Cover Girl and Shipwreck. Low Light grabbed the Blind Master and Barbecue and leapt to the ground, shifting into a metallic form and cushioning their fall.

            "Are you guys okay?" he asked after he landed.

            "That… was not a method of travel I'd like to use any time soon," the Blind Master told him.

            "You can say that again!" Barbecue groaned.

            Between the two of them, Kurt and Todd managed to clear the helicopter of everybody but Wild Bill, who joined Scott, Ororo, and Sean in the fight in the skies.

            "Well, they've got the skies," Beach Head called. "It's up to us to kick some robot ass on the ground! YO JOE!"

            "YO JOE!" Everybody, regardless of team, shouted back, and the fight was on.

***

            "And the battle is met," Essex mused as the Marauders fought within and the stolen Sentinels fought outside. He noted the presence of Samuel Zachary Guthrie, the one called Cannonball. Scalphunter had told him that the boy was shot in the heart. For the boy to survive, when Scalphunter was sure of his death… well, it would not be the first time Essex fought an External, and a junior High Lord with imperfect control of his powers wasn't likely to pose nearly the headache of Crule, Absalom, or any of the others.

He was nothing if not a realist- he knew that if so much of a remnant of his enemies met up with each other, this operation would be doomed. A shame- he had not yet succeeded in eliminating the old woman known as Plague. He knew the danger of the double-game he was playing, but he also knew he couldn't allow his former master to succeed in his goals. He flicked a switch. Time to let loose the reserves.

***

            Elisabeth looked up to see Polaris bind the unconscious Professor and Gabrielle with chains using her powers. The two locked eyes.

            "Don't even bother wasting your powers on me, Brit," Polaris sneered. "You'll need them for something much bigger."

            "Put them down!" Daria commanded. She and her sisters began to glow, and they zapped Polaris with psychic lightning. The lightning staggered her a bit, but didn't drop her.

            "I'm protected, girls," Polaris snickered. "The same block on mind-reading takes the sting out of your lightning. And, like I said, you really should save it."

            Elisabeth heard a distant sound, like the front door being kicked in.

            "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in," a voice taunted. Sabretooth!

            "I warned you," Polaris called down, taking her captives with her.

            "Oh, God, what are we gonna do?" Jamie said, clearly scared but trying hard not to show it. Elisabeth thought quickly, and stumbled on a solution.

            "Girls, Jamie, go to the Danger Room with Dr. MacTaggart," she told them, pointing the unconscious Moira. "Once you get there, lock yourselves in. I don't care what you have to do- just make it so that nobody can get in there."

            "You're going to fight Sabretooth?" Quinn goggled. "Fighting him isn't gonna be like fighting Wolverine in training!"

            "I know," Elisabeth said grimly. "But I can buy you some time."

            "We've been trained as ninjas since we could walk," Brittany reminded her. "We can help- we might even be able to do a better job!"

            "I know," Elisabeth sighed. "But if anything happens to me, you four may be the last line of defense we have."

            "No pressure," Quinn quipped. She and her sisters picked up Moira.

            "I'll lead him away," Elisabeth promised. "Just close down the lower floors!"

            "Gotcha," Daria nodded grimly, and Elisabeth left the room and ran to the foyer. There he was, in his hideous glory.

            "Well, well, well," he purred. "What do we have here?"

            Elisabeth smiled, and then grabbed a vase and threw it at him. He let it shatter against him.

            "A feisty one, huh?" he grinned. "Lemme show you what I do to feisty frails."

            "Fine," Elisabeth grinned. She suddenly realized that she was enjoying this. She didn't know why, but she was. "But you have to catch me first!"

            She sprinted up the stairs at top speed. His laughter followed her. She knew that if she could get to her room, get to her sword-

            She heard motion behind her. Risking a look back, she saw him already coming for her. Damn- she should have remembered that cats like to toy with their prey! But too late to turn back now…

***

            "Murderer!" Rogue yelled as she flew at Arclight.

            "Actually, I prefer 'murderess'," Arclight laughed as she dodged Rogue's blow.

            "Like it matters," Wanda muttered as she stood up. She pointed at Arclight, and she could feel her hex power build.

            "I don't think you want to do that," a crystalline voice drawled. Wanda recognized it, and she wasn't the only one. Standing behind her, leaning in a doorway, was a grinning Prizm.

            "Miss me?" he asked.

***

            "ARRGH!" Logan roared at Scalphunter, and charged the moment that Scalphunter had to recharge his weapon. He didn't make it. An enormous arm punched through a wall, and hit the runty Canuck through the opposing wall. The arm was soon joined by the body it belonged too.

            "Guess who's back?" Blockbuster grinned.

***

            "YEOW!" Pietro yelled as sharp pain in his calves dropped him to the ground.

            "What is it, yo?" Todd asked.

            "I don't know, but it hurts!" Pietro yelled.

            "It's supposed to," a voice behind them smirked. Looking behind them, they saw a dead man.

            "No way," they both breathed.

            "Believe it, boys," Riptide smirked. "I think Elton John put it best: 'I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch, the bitch is back!'" He began spinning, and throwing stars started shooting at them.

**Yup, I'm ending it here. It's obvious what happened to Blockbuster, Prizm, and Riptide, right? ****Essex**** doesn't let his people go easily when he can help it. Stay tuned for the second last chapter of "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Nineteen: Round Two!**


	20. Round Two!

**Chapter Nineteen: Round Two!**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**Red Witch: I'm glad you like it! How does the song go: You ain't seen nothing yet!**

**RogueFanKC: The Marauders are _so_ gonna get it! Re. Trinity and Multiple- I wanted to approximate the comics storyline as much as I could, and it featured a one-on-one of Psylocke vs. Sabretooth in the Mansion in the last part of the story. The psychic protectors somewhat diminish the effectiveness of Trinity's lightning (if I understand their powers correctly). Don't worry- the girls and the boy are gonna play their role in kicking ass! Re: "YO JOE!" Thank you. I wanted something to show their unity of purpose, and that was really the only thing that could.**

**Sparky Genocide: Actually, I haven't seen "Sins of the Son" yet, but that's not the reason. I started the story last summer (before Season Four), and RL interrupted my flow, and it took me forever to get back into it. Not making excuses, just explanations. Anyway, I already had me version of David Haller planned out, and by the time "Sins of the Son" was aired and the official Evo-David was introduced, it was too late for me to back out. And yes, he _is psycho!_**

**L1701E: Never fear, the good guys will lay the smacketh down. Essex is the type to prefer quality over quantity, so no armies of Marauders. In this fic…**

**Cammy: Nope, just "Round Two" here. There will be a Round Three eventually, but not for a while. No, I'm not going to bring the Crimson Dawn into this, although the circumstances are very similar, and Sabretooth set the whole thing off by nearly killing Betsy. Sequels? I've got a definite one, but it isn't based off of any one specific storyline. I'm going to try to make the Joes more prominent in it, but don't worry- there'll be lots of weird and wonderful Marvel stuff too.**

            "So _you're in those cloning tanks!" Flint exclaimed._

            "Yup," Arclight laughed. "The telepathic blockers also store our memories. The moment we die, it transmits our memories to the next tank, and we wake up somewhere safe, and then we come for the people that killed us. It's like immortality, you know? As long as we serve the Master faithfully, we will never die."

            "You know, I'm really only in it for the immortality," Prizm remarked as she shot his laser-lights at every target. "The action's just a bonus. Okay, a major bonus."

            "So you sell your soul to live forever?" Lady Jaye called back.

            "Something wrong with that? Say- are any of you willing to tell me who killed me?"

            "Does it matter?" Fred shouted as he and Rogue tussled with Arclight.

            "I remember every moment of my life, fat boy, up to my death. I kinda like to know who kills me, so I can repay the favour."

            "Den it's Remy you want!" Remy shouted, standing up and drawing Prizm's fire.

            "Maybe," Prizm hissed. "But I also remember being kicked and shattering. You aren't that fast, LeBeau- you never were!"

            "Maybe, maybe not," Remy taunted. "Want to find out?"

            "Sure- when the Sentinels make short shrift of your friends outside."

            What? Sentinels?

            "You don't really expect us to fall for that, do you?" Flint shouted.

            The battle was interrupted by a Sentinel crashing through the roof.

            "You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Lady Jaye asked him.

***

            "Great googly moogly!" Lance shouted as large explosions could be heard.

            "Great googly moogly?" Kitty asked.

            "Don't ask."

            "Sounds like we lost a Sentinel," Blockbuster sighed.

            "You have Sentinels?" Althea demanded.

            "If Bucket-Head can get some, little girl, then the master can get several- and make them tougher."

            "Oh, joy," Evan muttered, shooting some flaming spikes at Blockbuster.

***

            *_Go out the window* a voice in Elisabeth's head said._

            *Who the hell are you?* Elisabeth demanded. The voice was female and familiar, but it didn't seem to be Emma Frost.

            *_You can hear me?* The voice sounded shocked._

            *You're coming in loud and clear.*

            *_Then that means… it is not important right now. I am not the Astral entity you know as Malice. I am… I am not your friend, but in this instance, our interests are as one. You wish to defeat the one named Creed, and I wish to survive.*_

            Elisabeth barely dodged Sabretooth's blow. As it was, his claws cut into her back, and pain filled her world.

            *Why the hell should I trust you?* Elisabeth demanded, launching a spin-kick at Sabretooth's head. He dodged, grabbed her foot, and threw her to the wall in one swift motion.

            *_Because, good as you are- and you are,__ for I have helped make you so- you are no match for him alone. You must allow me to help you, for otherwise you die, and I do as well.*_

            *I don't do business with strangers,* Elisabeth said as she stood, uneasily. Creed grinned, and backed off. He had her trapped in a hall, and she couldn't do anything except jump out the window near her position. He clearly wanted to let her make the first move.

            *_You may call me Kwannon. Now will you let me help you? There are three possibilities. I am either a delusion, or a foe, or an ally. If I am not an ally, you are dead anyway.*_

            *You're right. What do I do?*

            *_What I show you.*_

            Elisabeth's head flooded with images.

            *I can't do that!*

            *_Yes, you can, and you must. Now do it, or die!*_

            *Okay.*

            Elisabeth looked into Creed's eyes, and grinned savagely. She was a Braddock, and her breed didn't beg. With a sudden move, she backflipped towards the window, and hit it, glass shattering with her motion and mass. She heard Sabretooth growl, and lunge to catch her, but he was just a fraction too slow. She fell past the first window ledge, and her hands reached, and grabbed it. It didn't stop her descent, but it slowed it and allowed her to swing into the window beneath. It hurt her hands like hell, but it worked.

            *How did I do that?*

            *_With some difficulty, but it was a good beginning. Now go the small gymnasium your fellows have erected on this floor. There are potential weapons there.*_

            *How did you find me?* Elisabeth asked the voice.

            *_I was not intending to contact you as such. It would appear that the stress of the situation and our coinciding interests made the communication possible. When one of those factors is relieved, then the status quo will return.*_

            *What are you?*

            *_Nothing you need be concerned with right now. Our fates are linked, and let us leave it at that.*_

            As Elisabeth ran, she suddenly remembered why the voice sounded familiar. It was the voice of the woman in Elisabeth's nightmares- not the laugher, but the screamer.

***

            Seconds before the throwing stars could connect, Kurt teleported and touched Todd and Pietro.

            BAMF!

            They materialized close to Lifeline, in a relatively safe and secluded area near the battle.

            "Are those Riptide's throwing stars?" Lifeline asked.

            "Huh?" Pietro groaned.

            "The ones in your legs," Lifeline explained as he started pulling them out.

            "Oww!"

            "Sorry, but they need to come out. Are they?"

            "Yup," Todd nodded. "Turns out those cloning tanks Storm Shadow found are in working order."

            "If he's back from the dead, then Blockbuster and Prizm probably are, too."

            "Not for long, yo," Todd grunted, leaping back to the battle. Kurt ported a second later. They returned about a minute later, Todd holding Kurt in his arms.

            "Not again," Kurt groaned.

            "He ported a little to close to few stray stars, yo," Todd explained.

            "I can see that," Lifeline said grimly. "Be careful, Todd. There's nobody left who can get you back safely."

            "I don't need that, yo," Todd laughed. "I'm a ninja!"

            "No you're not!" Pietro groaned.

            "I'll ignore that because you're wounded," Todd said as he hopped away.

***

            Vertigo's laughter echoed through the din.

            "Three blind mice, three blind mice," she laughed, enjoying the confusion of her enemies trying to remain with their eyes closed while dodging Scalphunter and Blockbuster.

            Evan growled. He found a covered area, and used it. Things were not looking good for the good guys. The Marauders knew how to play off each other's abilities. Dodging Blockbuster wasn't hard. Even Scalphunter could be dodged, barely. But doing it with your eyes closed and with a whole lot of noise? Not easy. Maybe he could even the odds a little bit. He targeted Vertigo, and sent a volley of flaming spikes at her.

            He meant for them to just miss her- he really did. However, by chance or an act of subconscious, the spikes hit Vertigo. She went down, fiery spikes piercing her mouth, brain, and heart.

***

            "Wakey-wakey, father," Xavier heard. He opened his eyes.

            He was laid out on the grounds of his estate, he saw Polaris- no, Malice- floating triumphantly above him. She was wearing a helmet similar to Magneto's, rendering his telepathy useless. Gabrielle was on the ground beneath her, still unconscious.

            "We meet again," she went on. "Are you proud of me?"

            "Let me make one thing clear, Malice," Xavier said evenly. "You are not my daughter. None of David's other aspects are my children."

            "That's what I thought. And speaking of little Davy…"

            "What have you done with him?" Xavier demanded.

            "Nothing- yet," Malice purred. "I'll deal with dear, darling David after I'm done here. Now, how do you want it?" With Polaris' powers, Malice lifted a number of sharp metallic objects into the air. "Quick, or slow? Just so you know, if you choose 'quick,' Gaby will die very slowly, but if you choose 'slow,' she dies a relatively painless death."

            "Slow," Xavier spat. He didn't trust Malice to keep her word, but he also knew that the longer she spent here, the better the chances of rescue- if not his, then Gaby's, and if not theirs, then David's.

            "Perfect," Malice grinned. "I think I'll start with the rusty nails. Do you have any feeling below the waist? I take your screams as a yes."

***

            "Lockdown!" Brittany yelled as her sisters ran into the Danger Room. "We're locking this place down!"

            "What?" Callisto and Mole both shouted. They saw Trinity carrying the stirring Dr. MacTaggart, and went to them.

            "We're under attack," Daria told them. "Sabretooth and Polaris are here, and maybe the others, too."

            "Let's go!" Callisto called to the few healed Morlocks there.

            "Do it quick, before the place-"

            The lights went out, and the back-up lights went back on.

            "Goes in to lockdown," Quinn groaned. "That was fast."

            "Okay everybody!" Jamie called as he joined the group, Amanda and Paul with him. "We're in lockdown, 'cause we're under attack!"

            "We know," Callisto told him. "Open us up! We're going to fight!"

            "Will do!" Jamie called.

            Minutes passed.

            "What's the hold-up?" Brittany asked, joining him in the control room.

            "I can't open it up!" Jamie told her. "This stupid thing accepts one code for lock-down, but two to open up- and I'm the only X-Man here!"

            "And you didn't know this when you locked us in here?"

            "I haven't been shown all the controls! It can be opened up from the other side by one of the adults, so we aren't stuck with no way to get out. I sent out a distress signal to the X-Jet, but nobody's answering."

            "Great! Remind me to kill Baldy when if all get out of this!"

            "We do have air circulation, and water, and some supplies," Jamie told her. "We can last a while down here if we have to."

            "Well, that makes me feel much better," Brittany groaned. "Get comfortable people!" she shouted as she re-entered the Danger Room. "We're gonna be here a while!"

***

            "I've got one! I've finally got one all by myself!" Wet Suit crowed as he brought down his first Sentinel.

            "I've got two by myself!" Leatherneck shouted back. "Just proves that the Marines shoot better than the Seals!"

            "Oh, really?"

            "Yeah, really!"

            "Then watch this! AHHHHH!!!!!!" Wet Suit started going postal on the Sentinels.

            "That's nothing! Watch this! YAHHHHH!" Leatherneck started going postal on the Sentinels.

            "Are they like that all the time?" Sunder asked Bazooka.

            "Actually, that's calm. Usually they swear and wrestle."

            "They're best friends," the Blind Master explained.

            "I'd hate to see what they do when they're riled up!" Sunder said wonderingly as he watched the two shoot and trade insults.

***

            Scott heard the beep of the comm signal, but he was too busy shooting Sentinels and dodging their weapons to answer.

            'You're just gonna have to wait,' he thought. Finally, the fight slowed down enough for him to quickly hit the switch.

            "Make it fast!" Scott shouted.

            "Scott? It's Jamie! We're under attack and we're in lockdown, and I can't get us out!"

            "WHAT?"

            "Polaris an' Sabretooth are here! Polaris has the Professor and Ms. Haller, and Elisabeth's fighting Sabretooth off upstairs, and I have us in lockdown down here. The Morlocks want to help fight, but I can't get us out of lockdown with only one code!"

            "Stay calm. I'll give you mine. It's X-1-9-3-1-5-2-0-2-0." Before he could finish, the X-Jet was hit. He gave the code again. "Did you get all that, Jamie? Jamie! JAMIE! Damn!" The blast must have hit the comm system. 'Come on, Multiple,' he thought. 'There's a code, and you're a smart kid, so crack it.'

            *Jean* he sent. *We have yet another problem…*

***

            "Scott? Scott? I didn't get all that! SCOTT?" That noise must have been the X-Jet getting hit. He hoped Scott was okay.

            "I heard talking!" Daria called as Trinity ran into the Control Room. "Did you get through?"

            "Yeah, but the link's been cut. I got some of the code, but I don't think I got it all. It's X-1-9-3-1-5."

            "Punch it in!" Quinn urged.

            "I can't! You only have a limited number if tries on this thing! Make too many mistakes, and your code is locked out!"

            "Wonderful!"

***

            "We're making progress," Hound Dog told Low Light. "More and more of those metal monsters are getting knocked out of the sky."

            "There's still too many 'em, though," Low Light grunted back. "And we've got Riptide to worry about, too."

            So far, Riptide proved impossible to pin down. The Joes were forced to concentrate on the Sentinels, and so were the mutants. Riptide threw his stars 360 degrees, so getting a shot was practically impossible- he knew, because he tried. Every time he became metallic and tried to repeat Colossus' kill, the Sentinels swarmed at him, and even he couldn't take both the throwing stars and the missiles, and was forced to retreat. Whenever Todd tried to get close, the Sentinels did the same thing. And Pietro and Nightcrawler were both down. Low Light was really starting to get mad.

            He was also not the only one to realize the Riptide problem. Willow had long since moved to a safe vantage point, and watched him. She noticed that he was leaving his feet exposed. A small area, but one she would be able to exploit. She willed a nearby root system to grow at an unnaturally quick rate. She knew it would die from exhaustion the moment she withdrew her powers, but at the moment she had no choice. She sent it growing underneath Riptide's feet, and as soon as it was in position, she willed it to grow upwards. The roots erupted underneath his feet, knocking him over. She didn't give him a chance to get up again- the roots extended over his body, and she willed them to tear him to pieces.

            "Ugh!" Bobby shuddered when he noticed Riptide's screams and the resulting bloody mess. "Could've gone without watching that!"

            "There's a way in!" Willow shouted.

            "Cover me!" Tabby called. She ran inside, with Xi and Jean joining her, Jean shielding them with her telekinesis. They went in.

***

            *I'm here,* Elisabeth told Kwannon. *Now what?*

            _*You are surrounded by possible weapons. Take them, and use them!*_

            *Easy for you to say!*

            Looking around, Elisabeth spotted the weight rack. That would have to do for now. She went to it and picked up two of the heaviest weights she could carry and still run. She made for the door, which burst open as Sabretooth crashed through.

            "There ya are," he grinned. Before he could continue, both weights were thrown at him. He caught them both, but Elisabeth started to pick up more, and throw them. He caught them all, and tossed them down. He was big, but he was _fast!_

            "You're a strong one," he leered. "Anything else you want to try?"

            Elisabeth looked around frantically. This gym didn't really have much. Baseball bats were out of the question, as she didn't want to get that close. There were many assorted balls, but they would be useless.

            'If I only had a sword!' she thought desperately.

            _*Agreed.*_

            *So you're still here. Any ideas?*

            _*He's not going to let you get to the window or the door.*_

            *That's it?*

            _*I would have had you use the baseball bat, but you fixed on the weights. And this place has no foils or genuine swords- nothing you can expertly use, or that I can help you with.*_

            "Guess not!" Sabretooth yelled as he sprang. Elisabeth knew that she could not dodge in time.

            'What I wouldn't do for a sword, or even a knife!' she thought desperately. Suddenly she jerked. Psychic energy surged in her mind, and down her right arm, which exploded in purple energy. Instinctively, she jabbed the spike- no, the knife- into Sabretooth's head. He screamed in pain, and went down.

            *WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?*

            _*It would appear that the union of our minds caused your power to react in an… unforeseen way.* Kwannon told her, sounding shocked. _*Even as you were wishing for a blade, I was too. I would guess that our powers mixed and responded to our need.*__

            Sabretooth was still breathing. Elisabeth decided to hightail it while she could. Shortly after she left the room, she could hear him groaning. It wouldn't take him long to fully recover. She considered returning to her room, but she didn't know if she could get to her sword in time.

            'What the… Limey frail… to me?' Creed's voice echoed through her mind. She gasped softly- whatever her knife did to him, it partly disabled whatever psychic defence he had implanted. She connected their thoughts, and pushed. It hurt him, but his defence was working enough to blunt her force. As she ran, she probed his mind. His higher functions were still protected, but not his lower ones, like lust or… hunger. Hunger! That was it! Not even Sabretooth could get up right away after _that_!

            _*Oh* Kwannon almost giggled. __*That is perfect!__*_

            *I think so too.* Elisabeth made for the kitchen, and heard the distant-but-ever closer sounds of Sabretooth coming after her. Looking around, she found that all her weapons had been left out for her, with a note. Perfect. She smirked, and linked her mind to Sabretooth's once more. She projected hunger into his mind, fierce, ravenous hunger that needed to be sated immediately, and that would make the most toxic of waste taste like Emeril Lagasse himself made it. She ran into the kitchen, and ran out again. Distantly, she heard Sabretooth enter the kitchen, but she didn't hear him exit. She waited for many tense minutes, until the sound of a wounded animal came from the kitchen. Her plan worked- and not only did it help her in the short run, but in the long run as well. She made for her room, just in case she underestimated his healing factor.

***

            "Why don't we get the heck outta here?" Lance asked Kitty. With Vertigo dead- for now- moving was easier, but still dangerous.

            "Gotcha!" Kitty grabbed him, and they made for the others. They went through the walls. Blockbuster howled in rage.

            "Oh no you don't!" Blockbuster punched through the walls, following them.

            "You'll take the roof down, idiot!" Scalphunter yelled, but Blockbuster didn't care. He wasn't gonna be beaten by kids and humans!

            "Well, look what the shadow-cat dragged in," Prizm drawled as they ran into the room the others were fighting in. He started firing at them, too. Since her phasing abilities didn't make her invulnerable to energy, the group scattered and joined their friends.

            "Here you are!" Blockbuster grinned as he crashed through the wall behind them. He blinked when he saw that he had joined up with the others. Rogue saw her opportunity, and took it.

            "If these guys are just gonna _be_ back, then we don't have to _hold_ back!" she yelled as she flew into Blockbuster at top speed. She grabbed on to him, and altered her flight path so that she was flying up, through the roof, and into the air above the hideout. She saw the Sentinels, and the others fighting. She brought the struggling Blockbuster up as high as she dared, and then threw him down. His screaming stopped the moment he collided with his first Sentinel. After he landed, Rogue took a moment to check before joining the fight against the Sentinels. Blockbuster was a bloody pulp.

***

            "She's right," Logan smiled pleasantly as he dramatically unsheathed his claws. "Who's first?"

            The Marauders turned and fled.

            "After them!" Althea yelled, and they scattered in pursuit.

            Wanda somehow ended up alone. She prowled the halls, looking for a target, and somehow, instinctively knew when to duck.

            "You're getting good, Witch-girl," Scrambler laughed as he sailed over her. "I got you twice, but you still survived. Third time's the charm, y'know."

            "I know," Wanda replied grimly, and used her powers to knock him through a door. Within moments, he emerged, carrying a machine gun.

            "Warned you," he smiled, and started firing.

            Wanda's powers activated almost before she could register what was happening. Scrambler's bullets shifted trajectory, and hit him. He went down, looking like human Swiss cheese.

            "Never piss off a witch," she told him, before going off to find more enemies, or her friends.

***

            Essex watched Scrambler's death with displeasure. Half of his present Marauders were down. Depending on Sabretooth's reasons for leaving, he might tear a strip off of the feral mutant. He couldn't decide where to begin with Malice.

***

            David Haller sat up on his bed. Mama- something was wrong with mama and Professor X! He got up, and left his room. He noticed that the Professor's house looked like somebody had a fight. He went down the stairs- where the mess was worse- and went out the open doors. He didn't know how, but he could feel his mama and Professor X in his head, and there was somebody with them- somebody he thought he knew.

***

            "Is somebody out there?" Jean, Tabby, and Xi heard a voice call from behind what was obviously a cell.

            "Where have I heard that voice before?" Tabby asked.

            "That's Destiny!" Jean realized.

            "Or it is a trick," Xi said, reminding them of Mystique's deception at Rogue's birthday party.

            "One way to find out," Tabby muttered. "Stand back in there!" She called to the person in the room.

            "Wait!" Jean called, but she was too late. Tabby threw a firecracker into the lock, and the door exploded open. Jean erected a telekinetic shield, which they didn't end up needing. Destiny emerged from the room. Right after Jean dropped the shield, Xi ran up to her, and touched her forehead.

            "It is her," he told them. "She is a precognitive, and not a shapeshifter."

            "What are you doing here, Destiny?" Jean asked her.

            "And how can someone who sees into the future be captured?" Tabby asked. Xi nodded.

            "I wish to know the answer to that, also," he said.

            "I was captured by Essex," Destiny told them. "And as for being a pre-cog, my abilities let me see all of the future- all of what might happen. By the time I know what _will_ happen, it can sometimes be too late to change it, and this time was one of those times."

            "What a dumb power!" Tabby said.

            "I've often said the same thing, at times," Destiny smiled wryly. Then she stiffened. "Into the room- quickly!" The four went back into the cell, and hid in the wreckage. They soon heard somebody coming, and a voice swore.

            "Great!" a crystalline voice hissed. Prizm. "She's gone!" He started to go.

            "If he isn't stopped now, he will kill some of your friends!" Destiny said suddenly. Tabby and Xi stood up, but Jean beat them to it. She flew out of the room. Prizm whirled, but before he could fire, Jean threw him against the walls with all her mental strength. Within moments, there was nothing left of Prizm but crystalline dust.

            "Didn't know you had it in you," Tabby whistled.

            "Nice work," Xi said approvingly.

            Jean just felt numb. It was automatic, and necessary, but she had just killed a human being.

            "You did the right thing, child," Destiny told her. "Trust me- I know."

***

            Althea followed Arclight into a small room. Arclight turned and sent tremors at her. Althea barely dodged in time, but she did dodge.

            "You think you can keep that up forever?" Arclight laughed.

            "I don't have to," Althea grinned, looking down. Arclight looked to her feet, and gasped in horror. She ruptured a water pipe. Before she could react, she was surrounded by water.

            Althea watched, seemingly dispassionate, but internally torn. The woman would be back, and they both knew it, but killing wasn't in her nature, even if she was trained to do it. Finally, Arclight stopped struggling, and went limp. Althea waited a few minutes to make sure, then she let the water flow freely. Arclight fell to the ground, not breathing. Althea kicked the body, and then stepped on the neck to make sure.

***

            "Think, think!" Jamie said as he tried to figure out what the rest of Scott's code could be.

            "You said it's X-1-9-3-1-5?" Daria asked.

            "Yeah."

            "What's yours?"

            "It's X-1-0-1-1-3-9-5. Why?"

            "Think-tank time, girls," Brittany said, and Trinity stared at each other. A few minutes went by, with Jamie making a few clones to help him think. X-1-0-1-1-3-9-5. X-1-9-3-1-5. There had to be a connection. Waitaminute. Take out the X. Jamie's code became 1-0-1-1-3-9-5. 'E' was the fifth letter of the alphabet, and the last letter of Jamie's name. What if his code was really 10-1-13-9-5? It spelled… Jamie.

            "I've got it!" the clones and the triplets yelled at the same time.

            "Letters of the alphabet?" a clone asked.

            "J-A-M-I-E," Quinn nodded. "Scooter's code is X-1-9-3-1-5-1-5!"

            "Which spells out S-C-O!" another clone added excitedly.

            "So the rest of the code is 2-0-2-0!" Daria finished.

            Jamie typed in his code, and then Scott's code. The lower levels went out of lockdown!

            "Yahoo!" The girls and the clones all hugged.

            "Let's go everybody!" Brittany yelled out of the door. "We have some ass to kick!" Trinity and Multiple led the charge.

***

            Lance crept as stealthily as he could down a corridor. He was separated from the others. Dammit! He suddenly felt an explosion of agony in his shoulder. He fell to the ground.

            "You call yourself a hunter, boy?" Harpoon grunted, coming out of the shadows. He kicked Lance in the balls.

            Lance roared like a wounded bull, and folded up into the fetal position. Harpoon hit him on the back, and in the base of the skull. Lance was barely holding on to consciousness. He looked up at Harpoon, holding a spear, obviously about to use it. He used the technique that Spirit had taught him about reaching past physical pain, and reached into his powers. He knew he was gonna die, but he would take this murderer down with him!

            Lance heard a noise like an eagle's cry. A small flash suddenly blocked Harpoon's head from him, and a larger one hit the Marauder in the stomach. Harpoon yelled in pain, and fell to the floor, down but not out. Pietro? No-

            "Stay the hell away from him," Spirit said grimly, as Freedom perched back on his arm.

            "Spirit," Lance groaned. No- not now! The tremors were beginning, and he couldn't stop them! No- please God no- he couldn't kill Spirit!

            He felt somebody grab his shoulder and start to pull. He managed to look, and saw Kitty's face. She grabbed Spirit, too, and the four of them moved to safety as the roof came down.

            "Kitty? Spirit?" Lance asked weakly. Freedom cried. "Freedom?" Lance smiled.

            "Yeah Lance, it's us," Kitty smiled.

            "Did you really think we would leave you alone, young brave?" Spirit smiled. It could have been Lance's fading vision, but he swore he saw tears in Spirit's eyes.

            "Did I get him?" Lance asked. Kitty phased through the wall. She came back a few seconds later.

            "You got him," Kitty said grimly.

            "Good," Lance breathed. "Just gonna go to sleep now…"

            "Sleep, young brave," Spirit said as he picked Lance up. "We shall guard you."

            "Thanks dad," Lance smiled as he fell into blackness.

            "Always, son," Spirit whispered. "Always."

***

            Callisto led her Morlocks through the mansion. They had divided up duties with Trinity and Multiple- the kids take the outside, the Morlocks the inside. She followed the mess and trail of blood, and as she passed by the kitchen, she heard the sound of a whimpering man. Not just any whimpering man- Sabretooth. She stopped, and made a signal, then she kicked the door in.

            When she got a look at the kitchen, and then at the look on Sabretooth's face as he lay in the fetal position, she waved her people to stay back. It could have been a ruse. She believed it was a trick until she found a note placed near to one of the many empty trays that were laying everywhere.

            "I baked these for you, so enjoy! Kitty."

            Callisto read and re-read the note, looked around at all the empty trays, which used to hold cakes, cookies, and muffins, and then burst out laughing.

***

            "Master!" Scalphunter shouted as he entered the control room. "Master!"

            He saw a message on the console.

            'See you soon,' it read. Scalphunter snarled. He knew what it meant.

            "Looks like your boss just up and ran out on you," a voice from behind him taunted. He turned. It was the bomber.

            "Pity," Tabby snarled. "I wanted to give one of these to him, too." She was making a large time-bomb.

            "It'll take more than that to kill Essex," Scalphunter laughed. "Go ahead, girl. Kill me. But I'll be back, and so will the rest of us, and we will be coming. Tell them that, Boom-Boom. We will be coming."

            "AAH!" Tabby shouted, and launched her bomb. It exploded on contact. Half of Scalphunter's torso was sprayed all over the room.

***

            "We've got wounded!" Spirit called as he, Freedom, Lance and Kitty emerged from the ruins of the hideout. The ground was littered with robotic wreckage.

            "Over here!" Lifeline called. He was with Pietro and Kurt, recovering nicely from their encounters with the business end of Riptide's throwing stars. "What happened?"

            "Harpoon got him in the shoulder, and hit him a few times. He brought the roof down on Harpoon."

            "So that makes three," Kurt said. "Harpoon, and Riptide, and Blockbuster."

            "Who got them?" Kitty asked.

            "Villow got Riptide, and Rogue got Blockbuster."

            "And I got Prizm," Jean told them as she, Xi, and Destiny joined the group.

            "Destiny?" several people asked.

            "The real article," Xi nodded. "Tabitha was with us as well, but we got separated."

            "We have to move out now," Jean said. She relayed Scott's message.

            "Damn!" Althea yelled as she, Wanda, Tabby, and the other members of the strike force joined the throng. "What are we waiting for?"

            "Any prisoners?" Lifeline asked.

            "None," Althea shook her head. "I got Arclight."

            "Scrambler," Wanda said.

            "Vertigo," Evan added.

            "Scalphunter," Tabby nodded. "And their boss escaped."

            "Damn," Thorn grunted as the group went to their plane and helicopter. "I wanted a shot at him."

            "You may get your wish, sooner than you'd like," Essex said to himself from in the trees where he was hidden.

***

            "Stop it!" Gabrielle screamed, tears running down her face. After she regained consciousness, she was bound with chains.

            "But I'm just getting started," Malice laughed. Charles already looked terrible.

            "How can you do this for so long?" Gabrielle shouted.

            "If you mean 'how can I torture Baldy,' it's because it's fun," Malice laughed. "But if you mean 'how can I keep such direct control for so long,' it's because I've inhabited this body for a while now. I've got dear Lorna under my thumb. It's still tiring, I admit, but my revenge is giving me all the energy I need. And now, what more do I do with you?" she asked Charles. "I know! I'll use some hydrochloric acid! Then I'll start with the chainsaw. Then I'll get nasty."

            "Stop it!"

            All eyes turned to the source. There, in a too big t-shirt and a pair of baggy boxer shorts, was David Haller.

            "Stop hurting Professor X!" he screamed. "Stop making Mama cry!"

            "YOU!" Malice shouted. "What are you doing here?"

            "I'm making you stop!" David shouted back, and started to glow. Gabrielle's eyes widened, and Charles stared in amazement. David had never used any of his mutant abilities ever since he came out of his catatonia! Perhaps the proximity of Malice was somehow responsible, but he couldn't guess how, since she had that helmet on. The light slammed into Malice. She yelled, but soon erected a magnetic shield, which managed to deflect the attack.

            "I don't know how you knew to find me, or even how you're doing this, but after I'm done with mommy and daddy, I'll dissect you," Malice snarled. "Maybe I'll find out then."

            "Or maybe not!" Three voices intoned in unison. Everybody looked up. Trinity were floating in the sky.

            "Delta Wave, girls!" Daria called. The Triplets floated down to Malice's level, and boxed her in, using David as the fourth corner of the box. They smashed their lightning at her.

            "UGHH!" Malice grunted, but her shield still held.

            "Nice tries, girlies," Malice sneered. "Between my powers and my mental shields, did you three really think you could beat me?"

            "There are lots of ways of beating somebody, bitch!" the girls cheerfully chanted.

            "DOGPILE!" Dozens of Jamies yelled from above. They jumped onto Malice's shield. Malice wasn't able to raise the strength in time, so between the assault and the extra weight, the shield collapsed, and she went down, covered in Jamie's.

            "WHAT DO YOU BRATS THINK YOU'RE DOING? WHAT- HEY! DON'T TOUCH ME THERE! OR THERE! _HANDS OFF THOSE, YOU LITTLE SON-OF-A-BITCH!_" Malice used Polaris' magnetic powers to throw the Jamies off- and then noticed that one of them grabbed her helmet. Xavier grinned.

            "NO!" Malice screamed, as Xavier mustered his strength and entered Polaris' mind. He soon found her- Polaris. She was chained by Malice's will.

            *Help me* she desperately croaked. With a swift motion, he freed her.

            *Don't worry* Xavier smiled reassuringly. *You won't be forced to hurt anyone anymore.* He took her hand, and helped her up, and took them both to the Astral Plane, where a battle raged. Standing in front of them, back turned, was Malice. She was battling David- and not just David, but all of his other personalities as well. There were even three large sparks harassing Malice. For three young inexperienced girls to manifest in the Astral Plane like that was incredible. With proper training, each one might almost be an equal for Jean. Smiling grimly, Xavier attacked her from behind.

            *AAAGGGHHH!* Malice screamed. She dissolved into darkness, and flew into Polaris.

            *NO YOU DON'T!* Polaris screamed. *NOT AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!*

            *You heard the girl, Malice* Xavier said coldly as he reached into Polaris and forcibly withdrew Malice. Malice briefly re-formed, and then flew into David and his other personalities. She was expelled from each, and with each ejection, she became smaller, dimmer, less a malevolent spirit and more an impotent shade. Finally, after she was expelled from the last personality, she was almost invisible.

            *MERCY!* she sobbed. *MERCY!*

            *No* Xavier said simply. *You are not a person. You are the personification of dark emotion. Once you felt confident you could do it, you would kill again.* He renewed his assault, as did David and the other personalities, as did Trinity. With a small sigh, Malice dissolved into nothingness.

            Gabrielle wasn't privy to any of it. All she saw was David's glow and Trinity's lightning encompass Malice, and Charles just stare at her. The Jamies set themselves to freeing Gabrielle. Then, the choker around the girl's neck dissolved, and she fell to the ground, sobbing as if there was no tomorrow. Trinity returned to the ground. Xavier sighed, and started to groan, and David slumped to the ground. He soon stood up again.

            "Mom?" he asked. Gabrielle's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't the childlike voice she had heard for so long- it was him.

            "David?" she breathed.

            "MOM!" David called, and ran, freeing her from her chains. Then he hugged her for so long. "I was lost," he sobbed. "I was lost, and I didn't know where to find you."

            "David," Gabrielle replied, sobbing with relief. "Oh, my David. Charles!" They looked at Charles, still bleeding, with tears of joy in his eyes.

            "Welcome back, son," he breathed, and passed out.

            "Dad!" David called, and picked him up. Gabrielle smiled. She had never heard David call Charles 'dad,' or even 'father' before. She stood up, and went over to where Polaris was sobbing. She gently touched the girl on her shoulder. Polaris looked up at her.

            "Kill me," Polaris begged. "I'm a hateful, murderous beast! Please, kill me!" Gabrielle's heart broke. This girl couldn't have been any more than sixteen at the oldest- and probably younger. For her to beg for death when she was as much a victim as the people Malice made her kill was terrible.

            "No, child," Gabrielle said gently, helping her up. "The time for killing is over. Now is the time for healing."

            "That was a trip," Quinn remarked.

            "A trip and a half," Daria added.

            "Uh huh," Brittany nodded.

            "What happened?" the Jamies asked in unison.

            "Oh, we watched Malice accidentally give back what she took from David," Daria told them as the Jamies shrank back into one. "Then we helped destroy her."

            "Yikes," Jamie shuddered. "So can we go home now?"

            "Yes," Gabrielle smiled. "Let's."

**Oh, but that was longer than I intended. Well, that's the end of the Marauders- sort of. They will be back, and ****Essex**** is still out there. There's still the aftermath of the last battle to deal with, and other matters as well, so stay tuned for the last chapter of "The Mutant Massacre:"**

**Chapter Twenty: Back to Abnormal!**


	21. Back to Abnormal!

**Chapter Twenty: Back to Abnormal!**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

**RogueFanKC: Thank you! Not even Sabretooth can resist Kitty's cooking! Polaris is gonna feel guilt? Yes, and I hope to touch on that in the next fic. Trinity and Jamie got a small chance to shine, and I'm also hoping to feature them in a bigger way in the sequel. Psylocke/Kwannon conflict? Yes, but not right away. Willow joining the Misfits? Read and find out! Best friends? Not a chance! Better friends- yes I know it's not much, since they realistically cannot be worse friends- but not best friends.**

**Red Witch: Thank you! I like the relationships you have between the Misfits and their handlers. All the adults love all the kids, and vice versa, but there are definite special relationships- Roadblock and Todd, Spirit and Lance, Xi and Low Light, and so on.**

**Sparky Genocide: Thank you! Yup, the girls did their part. I want to feature them more in the next one.**

**L1701E: Thank you! Yup, the Marauders got what they deserved, but the effect is kinda spoiled since they'll be back. The High Lords? That's what the Externals call themselves. They aren't really bad guys- no wait, let me clarify that. They aren't a cohesive force- they will act in unison at times, but they are mostly independent of each other. There are one or two good ones, a couple neutrals, and some incredibly evil ones. Case in point- Selene is an External. As for the Starrs- I will introduce them in the sequel. I'm not sure how much they're going to end up doing, but they'll join the Misfits for certain by the end.**

**Cammy: Thank you! As for the sequel: I was originally going to have it as my epilogue, but it grew and grew and grew into a fic of its own. I agree- the Joes deserve a chance to shine, and I also want to feature some of the characters I've overlooked and others that I've injured. Reactions: I'll try to cover some of them here, but a lot of stuff is happening and not everything has had time to sink in yet.**

            "Oh, my," Jean breathed as she saw the mansion. It didn't look too much worse than after an ordinary visit from the Misfits, but no blood was ever shed in those fights. This time, there was a trail of it.

            "Damn," Scott muttered, and climbed the stairs at full speed. Shortly after going out of sight, she could hear him yell in agony.

            "SCOTT!" Jean shouted, and flew up to find him. She expected anything but what she found.

            "Oh, I'm so sorry," Elisabeth panted, standing over Scott, who was clutching himself. "I heard somebody coming, and I thought it was Sabretooth."

            "Mommy," Scott whimpered. Jean looked around, and saw Todd and Althea behind her, staring. Althea burst out laughing. It took all Jean's willpower not to join her. It _was_ kind of funny. Todd was just wincing. Oh, man.

            "What's wrong?" Lifeline called, joining the group. He saw Scott.

            "Again?" he asked his cousin-in-law.

            "I thought he was Sabretooth," Elisabeth blushed.

            "Can we trade her for Wanda?" Scott wheezed. "It'd be safer!"

***

            Logan smelled the scent of his most hated enemy. Sabretooth had come to the Institute. He gave a horrifying cry of rage, and followed the scent. His nose took him to the kitchen. He threw the door open.

            By the time Rogue came to the kitchen, she saw Logan standing outside, laughing so hard he was crying.

            "What happened?" Rogue asked in shock. She'd never seen Wolverine like that sober. He just pointed, and started wheezing with laughter. Rogue took a peek in, observed the entire kitchen, noticed who was there and what wasn't, and then turned to Logan.

            "He _didn't, did he?" she asked in shock._

            "Yes!" Logan managed to wheeze. Rogue joined him in laughter.

***

            "Hail, hail, the gang's all here," Brittany called as the group entered the Institute.

            "Girls!" Shipwreck called, running to hug them. "What happened?"

            "What didn't?" Quinn asked.

            After the hug, he looked up. David Haller was holding Baldy, and boy did he look bad! Jamie was there too, and Gabrielle Haller, who was holding up-

            "YOU!" Shipwreck yelled, lunging at Polaris.

            "It's okay, dad!" Daria shouted. "She's free now! No choker, see?"

            "What's going on- YOU!" Low Light yelled as he entered the foyer.

            "Here we go again," Daria groaned.

***

            The infirmary gained a few more charges. Xavier was the worst case, Lance, and to a lesser extent Elisabeth, weren't much better, but they would all be out soon. Pietro and Kurt (and Scott) got off relatively easy, considering- they were able to be out by the next day.

            Sabretooth was transported to the Pit. He would be locked in the strongest stockade the Joes had.

            "I can't understand what happened to him," Lifeline said. Kitty, Amanda, and Jean were fawning over their respective loves, and the X-Adults and the Hallers were with the Professor. "What could be so bad that he couldn't just recover? His healing factor is supposed to be as good as Wolverine's."

            "Well, Edwin," Elisabeth smirked from her bed, "it's like this." Elisabeth made a fist, and reached into herself with her mind. The purple energy shot from her hand. "I discovered how to make this."

            "That's concentrated psychic energy!" Jean gasped. "How can you do that?"

            "Does that mean she's stronger than you?" Amanda asked.

            "No," Elisabeth told her. "Jean's stronger, but I use my telepathy in different ways than she does. This-" she lifted up her hand "was strong enough to sort of disable Sabretooth's psychic guards."

            "Sort of?" Jean asked.

            "I couldn't attack his mind, and I could barely read it, but I could affect his lower functions- exhaustion, lust… hunger… I made Sabretooth as ravenous as I possibly could, and I made sure he went through the kitchen."

            "Then _he ate all the stuff I made!" Kitty gasped. "I left my food out for anybody to eat if they got hungry, and it isn't there now! What else did he eat?"_

            "That's all," Elisabeth smirked.

            "You mean he got a stomach ache from eating too much?"

            "He got a stomach-ache alright, Half-Pint," Logan grinned.

            "Let me get this straight," Lifeline said. "You gave Sabretooth the munchies, and led him to Kitty's cooking?"

            "Yes."

            "Damn, you're evil," Kurt said in admiration.

            "Hey!" Kitty fumed.

            "You are the perfect woman," Pietro grinned from his bed.

            "And you're the perfect man," Elisabeth giggled back at him.

            "And I'm going to need the perfect insulin if the sweetness doesn't go down," Logan mock groaned. He didn't need it- Sabretooth's fate ensured he'd be in a good mood for at least a week.

***

            "Did she really nail Scooter in the nuts again?" Wanda asked Peter.

            "Uh-huh," Peter winced.

            "Oh, I would have loved to see that!"

            "I'm glad I didn't," Peter shuddered. Then he looked at her. "Is it true that you took Scrambler down?"

            "Yeah," Wanda nodded. "He was going to shoot me, but my powers made the bullets hit him instead."

            "Are you okay?" Peter asked gently.

            Wanda was silent.

            "Yeah," she said slowly. "I think I am. I know where you're coming from now, but it really was him or me."

            "It was good you were able to react in time," Peter smiled.

            "You got that right," Wanda smiled.

***

            "Hello, cherie," Remy grinned, holding a rose. Rogue smiled, and took it. It had been a long night, and nobody was able to sleep. The Rec Room had been converted into movie marathon central. Rogue, who had already seen the current movie, decided to wait in the kitchen for a bit, drinking a coffee (not B.A.'s- Xavier expressly forbade it in the Institute- which didn't mean that it didn't get smuggled in from time to time).

            "Thanks," Rogue smiled, taking it.

            "I hear you got Blockbuster," Remy said as he sat beside her. Rogue shrugged.

            "Yeah," she said tonelessly.

            "And it's bothering you, isn't it? Come on- you can't hide it from Remy."

            "Yeah," Rogue finally muttered. "It is. Ah know that they'll be back, but still- Ah just dropped him, you know? He didn't even have a chance."

            "And that was exactly the chance he would have given you," Remy reminded her.

            "Ah know." Rogue took a long swig of her coffee. "How did you take it? Killing Prizm the first time?"

            "It didn't bother me so much," he shrugged. "It wasn't the first time Remy has had to kill."

            "What?" Rogue asked, whirling to look at him. "When-"

            "It was before Magneto- or Essex for that matter. A man didn't think I was good enough for his sister, so he challenged me to a duel. I would have let him live if I could, but the man, he did not give Remy dat option. Dat was why I left de Thieves Guild."

            "Oh, Remy," Rogue breathed. Remy smiled, and looked at her.

"I know how you're feeling- and I know that mine won't be coming back," Remy said, and Rogue hugged him. Remy hugged back, and tried to rationalize his lie. It wasn't a lie, exactly- everything he said was true, as far as it went. He just left out the fact that the man he killed was his new brother-im-law, who interrupted Remy's wedding feast, and there was no way he going to bring up the fact that he was technically married, and left his wife behind because he didn't want her to have to live with her brother's killer.

'Belle,' Remy thought wistfully. She was the only woman for him, until he met Rogue. He said goodbye to Belladonna a long time ago- in his heart. He would always love her, and he hoped that she was happy- she more than deserved it- but she was his past. Rogue was his future.

***

            The next day, the adults gathered in the Med Bay. Xavier wanted to hear what Destiny could tell them about her capture first-hand.

            "Where to start?" Irene muttered.

            "How about with what this Essex really wants, and go on from there," Hawk told her.

            "Very well. Essex used to serve a mutant known as En Sabah Nur."

            "Who?" Shipwreck asked.

            "He goes by the name Apocalypse, these days," Xavier sighed. He knew he hadn't heard the last of Apocalypse.

            "And how do you know all this?" Hawk asked Destiny, after Xavier briefly recounted the story of their run-in with Apocalypse.

            "Partly from what he said, partly from what I saw."

            "And Apocalypse wants to set mutants at each other's throats to see who the most powerful ones are?"

            "That's the second phase of Apocalypse's plan. The first phase is to kill all the humans in the world."

            "What?" Xavier asked. "How?"

            "That, I do not know yet. It has been hidden from me. Essex wishes to stop him."

            "And how does killing us help stop this Apocalypse?" Callisto demanded.

            "One of you is going to serve Apocalypse. That one is going to be one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen."

            "Four Horsemen?" Mole asked. "I don't like the sound of that."

            "You shouldn't. The Four Horsemen will be Apocalypse's most powerful servants."

            "So he wants the four most powerful mutants in the world," Hank reasoned.

            "Not exactly. He's a very literal being. He wants his Horsemen to have powers corresponding to their names."

            "Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death," Callisto muttered. "Those are the Four Horsemen, right?"

Destiny nodded. 

"Then this Essex wants to kill Plague, doesn't he?"

Destiny nodded again.

            "Where is Plague?" Callisto asked.

            "I think she went out for a walk on the grounds," Sunder said.

            "Get her here, now!"

            He returned a few minutes later.

            "We can't find her," he reported. Xavier tried to use his telepathy to find her, and he failed. He dispatched Logan.

            "It's no use," Irene said softly. "She has been taken."

            "Taken?" Callisto asked. "By who?"

***

            Plague hobbled along the Institute's grounds. It was a nice place, but it wasn't her place.

            "Your place has been taken away," a voice said from behind her. A hooded man stepped out of the trees.

            "Who are you?" Plague demanded.

            "I'm a friend," the man said, and lowered his hood. He was bald, with green tattoos on his face. "And do I have an offer for you…"

***

            'She went this way,' Logan thought. Her trail led to the woods. It ended soon after, as Logan caught another scent.

            "Mesmero," he growled.

            "So Mesmero beat me to her," a voice said from behind him. Logan whirled. Leaning against a tree was a very non-descript man- average height, average weight and build, medium brown hair, medium brown eyes.

            "Yer Essex," Logan hissed.

            "Correct," Essex smiled, in the same tone most people would use to say 'good dog.'

            "RRAHH!" Logan yelled, drawing his claws and cutting the man's stomach to shreds. Or that was his goal…

            "You really should control your temper, my atavistic friend," Essex smiled. Logan's cuts were deep, but they drew no blood. They also healed remarkably quickly. "Is that how you greet a guest?"

            "What are you doing here?" Logan growled, trying to think of a way to take him down.

            "Well, I remembered the old adage: 'If you want to do something right, do it yourself.' However, if that little lackey has already fetched the one known as Plague, then I'm too late."

            "Yeah, so leave," Logan snarled.

            "Temper, temper, Wolverine. Perhaps I should teach you a lesson about respecting your betters. It appears Professor Xavier hasn't properly educated you in that regard. Yes," Essex smiled, taking a fighting stance. "I really should take you out to the woodshed."

            Wolverine launched a kick at Essex. At the last moment, Essex turned into a green mist.

            "AHH!" Logan roared. The mist smelled very strong, and he could already feel tired. He tried to get to fresh air, but the mist followed him. Logan fought for consciousness with all his strength, but he could feel his senses deaden- the world grew black, sounds died, taste failed, and sensation went numb. Only the sweet smell remained, and eventually even that faded.

            "Uhh…" Logan groaned, as he toppled to the ground, out cold. The mist coalesced, and some flew out of Logan's mouth and ears, rejoining the whole.

            "I should," Essex smiled down at Logan, "but you aren't worth the effort or the time."

***

            Back in the Med Bay, Irene suddenly gasped.

            "Upstairs, quickly! He's coming!"

            "Who's coming?" Hawk asked.

            "Essex!"

***

            'I wonder what's taking Logan so long,' Peter thought as he went to the front door.

            Suddenly, the door exploded and something very heavy hit him. It threw him up against the wall, knocking him out instantly.

            The noise attracted the attention of everybody in earshot, including the adults, who were already on their way. Unsurprisingly, Pietro was the first to get there, shortly followed by Kurt, and then Remy. They saw a hole in the door, Peter crumpled against the wall, slumped over Logan.

            "If I knew he was going to make that big a hole, I wouldn't have thrown him quite so hard," an ordinary looking man said as he stepped in through the hole.

            "You!" Remy gasped.

            "Hello Remy," the man smiled. "It's good to see you, traitor though you are."

            "Let me guess," Pietro remarked. "Dr. Essex, I presume?"

            "Correct," Essex smiled. "You don't need to bring out the red carpet on my account," Essex went on. "I just came by to let you know that you win."

            "Really?" Pietro asked. "You don't seem the kinda guy that just gives up when he has a clone army at his beck and call."

            "You found out about that? Well, aren't you a smart boy."

            Low Light and Ororo were the first adults to arrive, and more of the kids and the many guests made their way to the foyer. Low Light and Thorn drew their guns and started firing, and Ororo smashed at him with lightning. Remy charged a pair of cards and threw them. Every bullet hit Essex, but he just absorbed them. He lifted his right hand, and a bloodless slit opened. He turned his palm to the floor, and the bullets dropped out. The lightning didn't affect him at all. The cards blew a hole in his chest, but it quickly closed.

            "It appears you all have the manners of your friend over there," Essex remarked, gesturing to Logan.

            "If you've hurt either of them-" Ororo began.

            "Hurt them? Oh heavens no. Remy will tell you I don't like getting my hands dirty- like that, anyway," Essex grinned.

            Everybody in the room stared at Essex. Finally, Lifeline entered, holding the Professor in his arms.

            "Why have you come here?" Xavier demanded.

            "Just to let you know you've won," Essex sighed. "Why must I constantly repeat myself? Mesmero- I'm assuming dear Irene has already told you about Apocalypse- has snatched Plague before I could get to her. I'm surprised she didn't warn you about that."

            "I saw her acceptance of his offer too late," she told him. "You know Apocalypse is somehow blocking me."

            "Yes, well, what good are you then?"

            "Good enough for you, for a time."

            "For a time- which is why I haven't come for you. Or for you," Essex added, looking at Polaris, who was standing at the top of the stairs. She looked like she was about to faint. "I came for Plague, and when I found her gone, I decided to have a word with you all about the shape of things to come."

            "So you can see into the future now?" Shipwreck asked scornfully.

            "Hardly," Essex said disdainfully, looking at Shipwreck as if he were an insect. "I do, however, know En Sabah Nur intimately. I've served him for centuries."

            "What?" Hawk asked. Centuries? No way.

            "It's true," Essex told him. "I am like Mr. MacBride over there- I was once human, but my dormant X-Gene was artificially activated, and now here I am. That was, oh, a very long time ago."

            "Why are you working against Apocalypse if you used to work for him?"

            "It's simple. He wishes to destroy humanity to ensure that mutants are the only sentient race on the surface of the earth. I, however, know that mutants will eventually dominate, as Homo Sapien outlasted the Cro-Magnon Man. In the meantime, I wish to study the effects of gradual evolution, and watch the effects of a greater mutant population on humanity. Apocalypse will ruin all of that, and when I realized it, I began to work against him- in secret, of course. I have no wish to confront him directly."

            "In other words, you're watching an experiment unfold naturally, and resisting Apocalypse's interference," Hank reasoned. "That's perverse, given the circumstances!"

            "Perverse is merely a matter of opinion, Mr. McCoy."

            "We aren't an experiment," Hawk growled.

            "People are not your playthings," Xavier added.

            "They aren't _your_ playthings," Essex corrected. "I, by virtue of my perspective, am able to watch humanity grow and develop- and tinker with it, from time to time. For example- Mr. Summers, I confess I have a… personal interest in your family. I was able to predict your powers two generations before your birth."

            "What?" Scott asked. "No way!"

            "Believe me or not," Essex shrugged. "It is mere truth." He turned to leave.

            "And what makes you think you can just walk out of here?" Low Light demanded.

            "Because none of you can stop me, Mr. MacBride," he said simply.

            "Wait!" Mole called. Essex turned to look at him with profound disinterest. "If you were after Plague, why did you attack us?"

            "Well," Essex shrugged, "I didn't quite believe dear Irene when she said that Plague was in the sewers. I thought she might have joined your little commune like a few of the other Morlocks. But I confess I didn't need much reason to annihilate you. I've been meaning to correct my mistake for some time now."

            "And what's that?" Hound Dog demanded.

            "You, son. You and your brothers and sisters. Don't tell me you don't recognize your father." Essex shifted shape, becoming a little taller, much thinner, and much older, with a beard and glasses.

            "No," Hepcat gasped. Many of the Eloi- the created ones- also gasped. The rest just stared in shock.

            "Yes," Essex scowled in a higher, reedier voice. "Oh, don't look at me like that! I created you, and I decided to destroy you. You're lives were forfeit anyway the moment you rebelled against me and joined these… hippies."

            "You trampled on our rights!" a voice from the crowd yelled.

            "Shut up, Herbert," Essex groaned. "Another disappointment. I hoped splicing him with a goldfish might activate his latent X-Gene but no... ah, well. Children. I have had several, and not all of them have an active X-Gene." He looked directly at Scott. "But some do…"

            "What's that supposed to mean?" Scott shouted.

            "Maybe nothing," Essex smiled. "Maybe exactly what you fear it means. In any case, I really have to go- oh, two more things. General, when your return to your cesspit, you will find that Sabretooth has gone."

            "The Joes would have notified us instantly," Hawk told him.

            "Not if someone was jamming their signal," Essex smiled.

            "Then they would have teleported here to tell us."

            "Not if someone blocked that signal, too. I believe any attempts to teleport here would redirect them to Tahiti. They deserve a vacation, wouldn't you say? I'll terminate my signal the moment I leave these grounds. And the last thing- I will continue to seek out and destroy potential Horsemen. Don't get in my way, or the next time I visit, I won't be so nice." He stepped out of the hole, and was gone.

            "Anybody else find him awfully sinister?" Wanda asked. Several people nodded. Unbeknownst to them , Essex lingered a moment, and heard her.

            "That's _Mister Sinister to you, young lady," he smiled as he turned into a bird and flew away._

***

            By the middle of the week, all of the Eloi and Morlocks were fully healed and ready to leave.

            "Well, I hope you guys are able to get settled back in your homes pretty quickly," Ray told Reader.

            "I don't know about that," Reader disagreed. "Some of us have been saying that they don't want to go live in our old homes. Too many memories, you know? I think Mole agrees. He's gonna ask the Joes if they know anyplace where we can get a fresh start."

            "Are the Morlocks going with you?"

            "No, I doubt it. They're pretty stubborn- they'll be going back to the sewers because they don't want to feel that the Marauders won."

            "What about you?"

            "We feel that what makes us Eloi isn't where we live, but how. It's the opposite for the Morlocks, I guess."

            "Do you know how long you'll be looking?" Ray asked, concerned.

            "Nope, but I do know that wherever we go, there we are. That's enough for me. It was good to meet you, Ray."

            "You too, Reader."

            "You can call me Roland, you know."

            "It was good to meet you too, Roland," Ray smiled. They shook hands, and then hugged. Roland went off to join his friends.

            "You reconsider what he said to you?" Lacey asked from behind him. Ray looked at her.

            "I don't know," he said honestly. "But I have been thinking about it. I guess- well, it's possible- he might be right."

            "Maybe," Lacey nodded. She decided not to say that Reader had never been wrong before. "Take care of yourself, kid."

            "You too, Lacey."

***

            "What do you see of the future, Destiny?" Xavier asked her. He and Hawk decided to have a private discussion with her.

            "Many things, gentlemen," Irene told him. "And nothing that you need to know."

            "You can't see anything we can use?" Hawk asked her.

            "No, General- quite the opposite. I see too much that you can use. There is much that I can say, but if I do, you will try to intervene. In far too many futures, your intervention leads to disaster. Some things simply need to happen, and that is that. But I will say this: the time ahead will not be easy for any of us. There are great challenges to come, and there will be tragedy. But there will also be joys. The children- all of them- have the power to make a difference. Every single one of them has the potential for greatness. Some will fly higher than others, but for good and for evil they will all leave a mark upon the world. They will meet all of the expectations you hold- and they will surpass them. Regardless of what happens, you will be proud of them all."

            "We already are, ma'am," Hawk said quietly.

            "You haven't seen anything yet," Irene smiled, as she turned to leave. "I will be going home, now- please don't try to contact me. I will contact you when it is time- and it will be soon. We shall all meet again." She left the room.

            "You're going to let her leave just like that?" Hawk asked. "I thought you'd try to talk her into staying."

            "I tried, but she said it would be best for her to leave."

            There was a knock at the open door. They turned, and saw Mole.

            "Come in, Mole," Xavier said. "Is there a problem?"

            "No, no problem," Mole told them. I'd just like to thank you both for everything you've done for us."

            "It was our pleasure," Xavier smiled.

            "Come on Mole," Hawk grinned. "No debts between friends, unless there's money involved. You need help fixing things up?"

            "No," Mole said. "There was just one thing… do you know any other possible sites for us to live?"

            "What?" Xavier and Hawk both asked.

            "Most of my people think that there are too many memories in our old home for us to just go live there."

            "I'll see what I can do, Mole," Hawk promised.

***

            Shortly after everybody left, Elisabeth asked to speak to Professor Xavier. Alone.

            She told him everything- about her nightmares, about Kwannon, about how she really discovered how to make her 'psychic knife,' as she had taken to calling it.

            "I see," he said quietly. The theory about what happened- crazy though it was- had just been proven.

            "Professor, the woman in white has to be Frost. I think she put something into my mind. That's why I'm better at fighting than I should be."

            "Yes, I agree. I'm glad you came to me."

            After Elisabeth left, Xavier called Logan in, and told him everything Elisabeth had said.

            "Kwannon, huh?" Logan asked. "This is bad."

            "You know her?"

            "By reputation. She's supposed to be one of the very best."

***

            Hawk was sitting at his desk. Duke walked in, carrying forms.

            "Don't even think about giving me those," Hawk growled.

            "The burdens of command," Duke quipped. "What's wrong?"

            "Mole asked me if there was any place I knew for the Eloi to settle down."

            "There are lots of empty places they can go."

            "Yeah- too many, and too near civilisation. That's my problem."

            "They can take care of themselves," Duke told him. "They have to."

            "Yeah, and if Essex ever decides to pay them another visit?"

            "They'll be ready for him."

            "Somehow, I doubt it. I just wish I knew someplace as far from civilisation as you- can get…" Hawk looked at Duke, and then broke out in a smile. "That's it!"

            "What's it?" Suddenly, the answer hit him. "No!"

            "Oh yes!"

            "They wouldn't take them!"

            "Why not? They're friendly enough- and the Eloi can take over the mining- you know how they hate the mining!"

            "They do, don't they? And there is that Cobra base still there. The Eloi could fix it up."

            "Yes, they could. And they already live pretty close to the land, so that won't be a problem. Get a communicator- and don't say a thing until I know for sure! Somebody's bound to blab, and I don't want the Eloi getting their hopes up!"

            "Yes, sir!" Duke grinned. The more he thought about it, the more he found that there was just…. something right about it.

***

            "Well, we're back to normal," Xavier sighed, taking a drink. "It's been… an interesting couple of weeks."

            "You're worried," Ororo said. All the X-Adults were in his den, precious alcohol in hand.

            "I'm worried about Essex, and what Apocalypse is planning," Xavier admitted. "Add those to my worries about Magneto, and the growing anti-mutant movement, the fact that one of our students has a particularly deadly ninja assassin in her head, another is immortal, David will start manifesting his personalities sooner or later, we have a girl bearing a soul-crushing load of guilt, not to mention whatever Cobra does next, and whatever else life will send our way."

            "At least the Misfits are out of our hair for now," Hank said.

            "For now," Xavier reminded him. "Until their unofficial truce ends, at least."

            "Come back here with my diary!" they heard Jean shout.

            "Dear Diary," Bobby called mockingly. "Today, Scott kissed me for the first time. I wish I could say he tasted good, but his mouthwash is terrible!"

            "I thought you like my mouthwash!" they heard Scott say.

            "That's it!" Jean shouted. They heard a loud thump, and Bobby start moaning.

            "Tabby!" Jean suddenly shouted.

            "Dear Diary," Tabby started. "I finally got Scott to go to second base! He's even more repressed than I thought- I had to smear my nose with ice cream, and then start petting him when he started to wipe it off for him to get the idea!"

            "I thought it was natural!" Scott said, hurt.

            There was a bang.

            "Ow!" Tabby called.

            "Dear Diary," Rogue called. "It took some work, but Ah finally saw Scott naked! He's just as hung as Ah always dreamed he was!"

            "Oh, lord," Xavier moaned.

            "Okay," Rogue went on, "it's a bit of a turn-off that he sings the theme-song to 'Wishbone' in the shower, but Ah can deal."

            "JEAN!" Scott shouted.

            "Come back here, you-" Jean yelled, then the words were lost in the sounds of fighting.

            "We don't hear you, we don't hear you," Hank chanted, like a mantra. "We don't hear you, we don't hear you…"

            "And we worried the students wouldn't get back to normal," Ororo grumbled.

            "We could always say that we're letting them handle this as a test of their maturity, right?" Logan asked.

            "I'll drink to that!" Xavier groaned.

***

            "Umm, Kitty, Kitty," Lance giggled in his sleep. "You're tickling me, hee hee hee… Kitty…"

            "You've been a bad, bad boy. Go to my room!"

            "In the mansion? Hee hee hee- why are you impersonating Pietro?"

            "It isn't Pietro." Lance's eyes opened a crack.

            "Are you surprised to see me?" the Coyote grinned.

            Lance's scream woke half the base.

            "COME BACK HERE!" Lance roared. He was running around with a mallet. "I'LL TEACH YOU TO GET INVOLVED IN MY DREAMS!"

            "Somebody shoot him!" Low Light groaned.

            "I knew it had been too long since he saw that crazy coyote," Shipwreck moaned. "I just knew it!"

            "Ow!" Pietro yelled. Wanda smacked him upside the head. "What was that for?"

            "For inspiring that stupid figment of his imagination!"

            "Stupid? That coyote is an example of perfect behaviour! I'll show you something stupid!" He zipped into her room, and he returned with Mr. Stupid. "_This is stupid!"_

            "Put him down!"

            "Or what?"

            "Or _this!"_

            "OWW! OWW! OWW! Help me! My sister's gone crazier!"

            "That's it," Cover Girl scowled. "We're putting these kids on Ritalin now!"

            "WAAHHH!" the babies cried.

            "Daddy's coming," Shipwreck moaned. "As soon as he takes his Prozac!"

            "Roadblock? Roadblock?" Todd called, hopping up to Roadblock. "Lance is smashing the kitchen up!"

            "Oh Lord let me sleep one night and not have it full of fight after fight!" Roadblock moaned.

            "This sounds good!" Fred called. "Listen everybody!"

            "NO, I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT KITTY LOOKS LIKE NAKED! I WILL NOT TELL YOU- HEY! TAKE THAT BACK! SHE IS NOT, YOU FILTHY DISGUSTING PERVERTED THING! DON'T REMIND ME THAT YOU'RE MY SUBCONSCIOUS- I CAN'T FORGET NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TO!"

            "What I wouldn't give to hear the other half of that conversation," Althea snickered.

            "_Shut up!" they heard Beach Head scream._

            "You shut up!" Shipwreck yelled out the window. "Go back to telling your stupid teddy bear some bedtime stories!"

            "You dare insult Sergeant Snuffles?"

            "If I was insulting him, this is what I'd say- 'Hey Sergeant Snuffles, your owner is a crazy anal-retentive dope!'"

            "DIE!" they heard Beach Head scream, and then heard the sound of many Joes trying to restrain him.

            "Did you have to do that?" the Blind Master asked him.

            "No- I just wanted to."

            "Why me?" Hawk asked from the relative safety of his home. "What did I do to earn a base full of wackos?"

**And in the spirit of the GI Joe Cartoons… here's a Public Service Announcement with Bree!**

            "I should go over there," Lifeline groaned as he searched for his clothes. "They're going to need a doctor by the time Beach Head gets to the house."

            "Hold on!" Bree called.

            "Bree!"

            "Didn't anyone ever tell you that getting involved when somebody insults Sergeant Snuffles is very dangerous? It could lead to bruises, broken bones, and maybe even body bags. It's better to just let them hack it out on their own, and tend their wounds in the morning when they've all calmed down."

            "Thanks Bree. Now I know."

            "And knowing is half the battle!"

**Well, that's it. The end. The last chapter. But don't worry- there's an epilogue!**

**Epilogue: Why Do the Bad Guys Always Come Back?**


	22. Why Do the Bad Guys Always Come Back?

**Epilogue: Why Do the Bad Guys Always Come Back?**

**The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch. Reader, however, does belong to me.**

            Back to the void. It isn't possible to describe it in human terms. What human can picture absolute nothingness?

            Malice was unaware of how long she drifted in the void. She could see where the void began- a single pinprick of light that led back to the Astral Plane. No matter how hard she tried, she could not obtain it. Like the apples or the water of Tantalus, it drifted just out of her reach the moment she tried to get to it.

            She hated the place. She'd been there once before. She didn't know how she got out- one day- 'day' being a relative term- she made one particularly frenzied attempt to get at the light, and something pushed her the extra distance, into the light before it could flee. But where was that something?

            She made another desperate attempt to reach the light. She outdid herself. She was almost there, and it fled out of her reach. She was able to see into the Astral Plane, that time.

            "Where are you?" Malice screamed in frustration. "Help me out of here!"

            **_And why should I help a failure a second time?_**

            It wasn't a voice. No voice could resonate like that- not just through her ears, but through her shrivelled, char-broiled soul. Instinctively, Malice knew she was in the presence of something even darker than she.

            "I can help you!" she screamed, attempting communication.

            **_You cannot even help yourself, wretch. Do you presume to be able to help me?_**

            "Why did you help me the first time, then?"

            **_I recognized your potential. I believed that you could overcome Xavier if you faced him a second time. You failed._**

            "But… the third time's the charm!" Malice protested.

            **_Do not presume to patronize me. You had aid, this time. You wasted it by striking out impetuously, and practically alone._**

            "I won't waste anything again! Please- help me out of here!"

            **_I could do that. I could also show you the meaning of true darkness. I could make you my plaything, and lead you down the path of madness. It would be brief, but it would give me pleasure. You are such an innocent thing. You do not comprehend true evil_**

            "Please!" Malice sobbed.

            **_Do you beg me, creature?_**

            "Yes!" Malice sobbed even harder. "Yes! I beg you! Please help me out of here!"

            **_Oh, this is precious. You do not even comprehend what you ask of me. Yes, I believe I will make you my toy._**

            "But who will punish Xavier then?"

            **_You have a point._**

            "You hate him, don't you? You hate him just like I do?"

            **_Do not presume to compare your hatred to mine, creature. For the sake of my hate, and the sake of my hate alone, I have endured here when so many others have fallen into madness and the final dissolution. I exist through my hate and my will alone. You are doomed to quick dissolution even if I do not make you mine. Do not compare anything of yours to anything of mine, unless you emphasize how paltry and insignificant your being is to mine._**

            "Of- of course not, master!"

            **_Master? You seek to curry my favour?_**

            "I seek escape," Malice said honestly. "If you can help me escape, then I will call you master- hell, I'll do whatever you demand of me! Just help me out!"

            **_Do not speak to me of Hell, creature. You know nothing of Hell. Very well- for my hate's sake, I will release you, but on three conditions: First- I will send a sliver of myself along with you to better observe your progress and to give you my orders; Second- No matter whom you claim to serve, you will serve me above all others, and you will obey me no matter the cost to yourself; and Third- You will work to free me. This will come above all, even your revenge against Xavier. Is this acceptable?_**

            "Yes, master!" Malice screamed joyfully.

            **_Then accept me, slave._**

            Malice felt her being suffused with darkness. Her earlier intuition was correct- she really was nothing before the darkness of the thing before her. She felt as if she would drown in it, but it relented, and only a small shard of it remained.

            **_You are bound to me, now. Succeed, and you shall be rewarded beyond even your darkest fantasies. Fail, and know torment to make even Iblis himself shudder in horror._**

            "Yes, master. Thank you, master. What shall I call you?"

            **_You shall refer to me as Master. However, when you wish to introduce me formally, you may call me the King of Shadows. I had a name once, but you have not earned the right to know it._**

            "I thank you for your generosity, oh great and terrible Shadow King," Malice knelt. She suddenly shuddered at a… noise he made. Then she realised what it was- laughter.

            **_Go now, slave._**

            Malice made for the light, and as he did so long before, the Shadow King helped her through the tunnel, back into the Astral Plane.

**Well, that's it. The end. The last chapter. But don't worry- there's an epilogue, and there will be a sequel. You will find out where Hawk was talking about. Any hint I could give would give it away, and I don't want to do that just yet, but I will say this: readers of Marvel Comics already know it. There will also be more laughs, some dramatic moments, a lot of parental concern, and a few comic characters- but not necessarily X-Men characters. So stay tuned for the sequel, coming out whenever I get my fat ass around to starting on it!**


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